Hitori Ja Nai
by Mrs. Nozomu Sohma
Summary: IY-Naru. Uchiha Kagome had one ambition in life: to become strong enough to help her twin brother exact revenge on the man who killed their clan. When she learns of the Shikon no Tama she possesses, she must decide how far she will go to reach her goal.
1. Prologue: Threads of Fate

**Author's Note****: **I haven't posted anything in a while, so I decided it was time to kick-start my story list, as it were. This is the first long story that I've had the courage to post in a long time; my other one--a Furuba fic going under the name of _Shoujo Fukuzai_--hasn't been updated since January, and I'm sure any of the readers I had there have lost interest entirely. -.-;; This is another milestone at FFN for me 'cause it's the first time I'm posting a fusion story at all; most of my crossovers--never mind fusions--end up in the vast wasteland collecting dust on my hard drive and/or my jump drive.

Considering that this story deals with Naruto and Inuyasha, I actually wasn't sure where to post this story at first. I was considering the Anime Crossover/Xover section for a while, but I negated the idea when I decided that this story is more of a fusion than a crossover. While the Inuyasha section was another consideration, bearing in mind that a lot of the action in the story takes place between Inuyasha characters, I finally decided to go with the Naruto section because that's where everything is supposed to be taking place. (Though that _is_ subject to change...)

I'm sure nobody really cares, but this story grew out of an interest of mine in the Kagome/Sasuke pairing. However, as I suck at writing romance in any shape or form, I was struck with the idea of making them siblings (long before it became a common theme, I assure you--this story is over a year old) and giving Kagome an unwavering devotion to her brother. There won't be any real pairings in this story, truthfully, aside from miscellaneous crushes that are basically canon--such as, Naruto likes Sakura, Sakura likes Sasuke, etc.

Also, as a fair warning, I'll say this in advance: the ages of the Inuyasha characters and their temperaments have been severely tweaked. In the case of some relatives--such as Kikyou and Kaede--their birth order has been messed with, and in others--like Kagome and Souta--they won't even be related. Hope that doesn't scare off anyone. -.-;

That being said, please read and review!

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto or their characters; I only own the characters that nobody's ever seen anywhere but in this story--and I'm not even sure I want them._

* * *

**Hitori Ja Nai**

**_Prologue: Threads of Fate_**

A wave of dread had swept over Higurashi Kaede as soon as she woke up that morning. She sensed that something terrible was going to happen, but had no idea of what. At one time, her presentiments had been strong enough to sometimes guess at what sort of horrible event might come. However, ever since she had married and borne her son, her powers had diminished slightly.

It unnerved her that her powers as a priestess were waning, knowing that she was one of the most powerful miko her clan had ever produced, and it would be months—years, even—before her abilities would be anywhere near what they had once been. Without her full potential, she could not even begin to guess what at the sort of danger her presentiments were attempting to forecast. As such, she had planned to tread carefully in everything she undertook before going to consult her sister at their old family shrine.

She was going about her morning routine—sweeping the shrine steps while her husband was entertaining their son in some manner or another before putting him down for a nap—when someone began to bang frantically on the gate of the Higurashi Shrine. Startled, she quickly went to unlatch the gate and was even more stunned to see the village headman standing before her with a frightened expression.

"Tang Long-san?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

"There's been an attack at the Hinode Shrine, Kaede-sama!" Tang Long told her hurriedly. "Kikyou-sama has been injured—we need your help."

Kaede's blood froze at his words, realizing that the warning had not been meant for her, but for her sister. However, her blood began to thrum through her body again as she contemplated every scenario her mind could conceive. All of them seemed too horrible to consider.

Without even bothering to alert her husband to her abrupt departure, she and Tang Long quickly made their way to the Hinode Shrine. "When did it happen, Tang Long-san?"

"Less than half an hour ago," was the headman's reply. "Chiaki-sama insisted that we bring you to attend to your sister."

Kaede grimaced. Of course her mother would believe that she was the only one who could help Kikyou. Their clan had long believed that natural and spiritual remedies were the best healing agents, and Chiaki was abnormally obsessed with ensuring that anything their crude hospital could produce never touched her family.

Instead of dwelling on her mother's eccentric beliefs, she rerouted the conversation to its original path. "Do you know who it was?"

"At first, we believed that it was that _hanyou."_ Tang Long slurred the designation, his expression communicating that the term left a bad taste in his mouth.

The young priestess stopped short at the headman's words, startled that he would accuse the half-demon who had been spending time with her sister—Inuyasha—of something of that nature. There was no way she could believe that he would ever attack Kikyou; from what her sister had told her, they loved each other and had been planning a future together.

Not noticing her shock, Tang Long continued. "But Kikyou-sama insisted that it was Onigumo. She said that he wanted the Shikon no Tama."

_That_ Kaede had no trouble believing. Ever since her sister had made the effort to nurse the thief back to health, Onigumo had been making attempts to sway her heart where the young hanyou was concerned. Thankfully, Kikyou was not taken in by empty flattery and worthless promises, and knew that Onigumo simply wanted to possess the Shikon Jewel.

As the jewel's guardian, the younger woman took her role very seriously. A lesser woman might have wavered under the burden of protecting such a powerful artifact from the greedy souls who wished to control its potent energy, but Kaede had always been certain that Kikyou would be able to perform her task without fail. However, if Onigumo had been able to injure her sister…

"What sort of attack did Onigumo use?" Kaede demanded as she hastened her steps to catch up to the village headman.

"I can't be sure," admitted Tang Long, hurrying as the priestess nearly outpaced him. "I know next to nothing about spiritual power, Kaede-sama. Aside from Chiaki-sama, you are our foremost authority. Along with Gendou-sama, of course," he added hastily, referring to Kaede's husband.

The dark-haired woman pursed her lips. It never ceased to amaze her how ignorant the people in Nikkou were when it came to spiritual energy. Everyone possessed it, yet very few understood it. Even Kaede's own husband was extremely ignorant of its true power; though he paraded around what little knowledge he did have, any spiritual awareness the Higurashi line had ever possessed was steadily diminishing.

That had been one of the reasons behind her betrothal to Gendou. Her parents and the Higurashi had hoped that, by combining the spiritual powers possessed by each family, they could strengthen their bloodlines. However, Kaede feared that their efforts would be for naught, as she could sense very little chi within her own son, who was supposed to be the legacy of the two most powerful clans in all of Nikkou.

As the priestess and the headman neared the Hinode Shrine, a pit began to form in Kaede's stomach. She entered her childhood home to find that a large crowd had already gathered around—she assumed—her sister. However, her eyes were drawn to the far wall of the shrine; there sat Inuyasha, watching her with an expression that was mixture of panic and anxiety. Silently, she attempted to communicate to him that she would do everything in her power to help her sister.

"Kaede-sama!" cried a woman, diverting her attention. It was Lin, she quickly realized, her mother's apprentice. Lin latched onto the sleeve of her shirt and began to drag her to the center of the crowd. "This way!" The throng parted as the women made their way toward Kikyou.

Kaede felt her blood run cold for the second time that day as she took in the state of her sister. Kikyou lay on the ground, her hand compressing what appeared to be a gaping wound on her stomach, while Chiaki held her head in her lap and softly crooned meaningless sounds. Her eyes were closed and her form was deathly still. Licking her lips, Kaede whispered, "Kikyou-chan…"

To her relief, Kikyou's eyelids slowly fluttered open to reveal warm brown orbs. A slight smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she responded in kind. "Neechan…"

The older woman immediately fell to her sister's side, gently removing Kikyou's hand from her abdomen. Kaede's breath caught in her throat as she realized the extent of the wound. Her eyes snapped to her sister's face. "Onigumo did this?"

Kikyou's gaze hardened. "Yes… He used one of his jutsu."

Kaede's lips formed a thin line. Having been raised by a group of missing-nin that haunted the area, Onigumo had an intimate knowledge of many ninjutsu that the people of Nikkou found unnerving, as very few of the citizenry possessed enough spiritual energy to perform such feats. However, the ninja arts were just as alien to Kaede as anyone else, and she had no idea if she could even begin to counteract Onigumo's jutsu.

"Help her, Kaede-chan," whispered Chiaki, catching her oldest daughter's attention. "I don't want to lose my baby…"

A stab of resentment pierced the older sister's chest, but she quickly quashed it. Her eyes fell to the wound again. Gently, she placed her hands on her sister's abdomen and she attempted to focus her chi into it. A steady stream of pink energy began to enter the wound—but almost immediately it was rejected and thrown back at Kaede.

Hissing in pain, the woman withdrew her hands and clutched them tightly to her chest. It had felt like fire coursing through her veins as a corrupt spiritual energy lashed out at her for attempting to interfere with the jutsu's effects.

Kikyou repressed a sigh as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Neechan, but you're wasting your energy. Onigumo told me that he would kill me if I wouldn't refused to give him the Shikon no Tama. Nothing you can do would counteract this, I fear…"

"Don't say such things, Kikyou-chan," Chiaki chastised her youngest daughter lightly, stroking her dark hair. "Kaede-chan will find a way to save you—don't worry. We'll break Onigumo's evil jutsu and you'll be better in no time. I still have so much to teach you about being a miko…"

"Stop deluding yourself, Mother," Kikyou said, opening her eyes and focusing on Kaede. "Neechan, there is nothing you can do to save me. Onigumo meant to kill me—and he surely will."

Kaede was terrified by the knowledge that her younger sister had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die. Kikyou was only seventeen—she should have been railing against death, not accepting it!

"She's talking nonsense, Kaede-chan," Chiaki insisted. "You can still help her. Just try again."

"No, Mother," Kikyou responded, more forcefully this time. She kept her eyes locked on her older sister. "Neechan…"

Kaede shuddered as she realized that her sister was right—there was nothing she could do to save her. Tears forming in her eyes, she whispered, "What do you want me to do?"

"Make sure that the Shikon Jewel is burned with me," the younger woman told her softly, her eyes narrowing. "That way, it cannot become a source of conflict ever again. Too many people have died to possess it. Never again…"

"Yes." Kaede nodded her understanding.

Kikyou smiled gently and murmured, "Thank you, Neechan…" as her eyelids slowly fluttered shut.

A moment later, her form stilled and her chest stopped rising. Kaede's eyes widened in horror and Chiaki's scream resounded throughout the shrine: "KIKYOU!"

Two days later, the Shikon no Tama was burned along with Kikyou's corpse.

* * *

Horrified panic flooded Uchiha Kagome's veins. She wished with all her might that she could look away, but her eyes remained glued to the sight of her mother's bloody corpse staring back at her with glazed black eyes. Tears streaked down her face as she shook her head in denial.

There was no way this could be real, her mind reasoned. It was all a horrible dream and she would wake before long. The sight of every member of her clan lying dead in crimson pools throughout the compound, the metallic tang of blood that seemed to permeate everything, the darkness that was all consuming, the deathly silence that was almost deafening—in a matter of moments, all of it would be nothing more than a nightmare that would fade away…

So why was it she couldn't seem to wake up?

"You're home early, chibi-chan," observed someone on her right. She tore her eyes from her parents' bodies to see the speaker, and she gasped as she recognized him as her oldest brother, Itachi.

"Aniki!" she whispered, scrubbing away her tears frantically. "What's going on? What happened to everyone?!"

"I wasn't expecting you for a while," Itachi said, ignoring her questions. His bangs shielded his eyes from view and he refused to look at her. "I thought you and Sasuke were practicing together. He isn't with you?"

Kagome hiccupped a sob and shook her head. "H-he wanted to practice a little longer, so I…" She trailed off as she realized that her brother seemed far too calm.

Why wasn't he the least bit upset about seeing their parents lying dead in a pool of their own blood? She knew that ANBU were supposed to remain detached, but how could he be so relaxed at a time like this?

A cold pit formed in her stomach as she noticed that his pale skin was streaked with red—the exact shade of blood. And his hands—they were coated in it…

Her eyes widened in horror and she unconsciously took a step back. "Aniki…?"

"I'm sorry you had to see this, chibi-chan," Itachi told her, not looking away from their parents' bodies. "You should have waited for Sasuke…"

She rapidly backpedaled until her back made contact with the far wall of the room and she found herself in a corner. The girl trembled in fear, hyperventilating, but Itachi paid her no mind; he acted as if she wasn't even there. It seemed as though he was waiting for something, but she could not begin to fathom what…

Suddenly a panicked voice filled the air: "Mom? Dad? Kagome?"

Kagome's head snapped to see her twin brother in the doorway. Swallowing hard, she watched as his eyes traveled from her tremulous form in the nearby corner to the bodies of their parents near the center of the room. His ebony eyes widened in horror as he whispered, "Mom, Dad!"

He made a move to go to them, but stopped short when he noticed Itachi standing over the corpses. "Aniki!

"Aniki, Mom and Dad are…" The boy shook his head in disbelief. "How?! Why?! Who could've—"

He was interrupted as a shuriken flew through the air, past his shoulder, and landed in the wall behind him. Kagome shrieked, covering her face with her hands as she shrank even further.

Sasuke stared at Itachi in shock, and clutched at his shoulder as a sharp pain suddenly shot through his arm. "Aniki, what are you…?"

Itachi stared at the boy in unnerving silence, his Sharingan eyes pinning him in place.

Swallowing hard, Sasuke stammered, "What's going on, Aniki?"

A long moment of silence followed, filled only with the sound of the twins' quavering breathing. Then, Itachi slowly spoke. "Foolish little brother…"

Kagome and Sasuke watched as his eyes slowly slid shut. Kagome was certain that her brothers could hear her heart pounding in the stillness. She gasped as Itachi's eyes suddenly flew open and were suddenly filled with what looked like a black and red pinwheel that was fixated on Sasuke. **"Mangekyou Sharingan!"**

Gasping in pain, younger boy clutched at his head. Kagome whimpered as he writhed in pain, screaming, "Stop it! Aniki! Don't show me this! Why? Why did you…?"

He cried out again before falling to his knees before collapsing into a gasping heap on the floor. Itachi's eyes reverted to their natural black state.

Heedless of what her oldest brother might do, Kagome rushed forward and fell to her knees beside Sasuke, crying, "Niichan!"

Itachi simply stared down at the pair. While the girl flinched, murmuring fearfully as she clutched her twin brother's shirt more tightly in her fists, he slowly twisted toward the older boy.

"Why?" Sasuke whispered brokenly. "Why did you…"

"So that I could test my capability," Itachi said coldly.

"To test your capability?" echoed the younger boy hollowly. "That's why? That's why you killed everyone?"

Itachi closed his eyes. "It was necessary."

Slowly, Sasuke tried to sit up, and Kagome reluctantly loosened her grip on his shirt to allow him movement. "Niichan, don't…"

"What the hell kind of reason is that?" muttered Sasuke, refusing to meet anyone's gaze as he slowly got to his knees. Then, without warning, he launched himself at Itachi with a shout. "Don't screw with me!"

Itachi did not move out of his path, but raised a hand to catch Sasuke in the stomach. Kagome shouted, "Niichan!" as she watched him fall to the ground a second time.

Kagome was frozen, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched her twin slowly shifted to stare up at their older brother. Her heart jumped into her throat as she watched Itachi advance on a trembling Sasuke. Then, stumbling to his feet, the younger boy grabbed her hand and tore out of the room.

"Niichan!" Kagome yelped as her twin dragged her through the alleys between the houses. She stumbled over her own feet as they went, unaccustomed to traveling at such a high speed.

"We can't stop!" he shouted urgently. "He'll kill us!"

"I don't wanna die!" Kagome whimpered and actively attempted to keep pace with her brother.

The twins kept running until Itachi suddenly appeared in their path. Sasuke stopped abruptly, causing Kagome to crash into him from behind. From her position, Kagome stared at the older boy in fear.

"This can't be real," Sasuke whispered as he watched Itachi. "You're not Aniki! Because—"

"I kept acting like the brother you wanted because I wanted to test your capability," the teen told him flatly. Sasuke gasped, but Itachi simply continued. "You will become my opponent and be the one to confirm my capability. You have the potential.

"You hated me and held a grudge against me," the older boy went on. "You always wanted to surpass me. And that's why I let you live—for me."

"What do you mean?" Kagome whispered, fisting Sasuke's shirt once more.

"Sasuke is like me," Itachi said, not taking his eyes from the boy in question. "He has the ability to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."

The term was only slightly familiar to Kagome, as the clan doujutsu was something she had anticipated achieving since her mother first explained it to her. However, she could not begin to know what Itachi meant by the Mangekyou Sharingan…

"However, there is a special condition…" Itachi added. "He must kill his closest friend."

"No way!" Sasuke breathed, his mind automatically going to Kagome.

"Just as I did," Itachi told them.

"It was you," whispered the younger boy as he made the connection. "You killed Shisui-san!"

Kagome startled at the accusation, but Itachi simply replied, "That's right. Thanks to that, I obtained these eyes."

The girl's coal-black eyes widened further. "How could you…?!"

Itachi seemingly ignored her and returned to conversing solely with his brother. "In the main building of the Nakano Temple, toward the right corner in the back of the room, under the seventh tatami mat, there lies the clan's Commentary Scroll. Within its writing, the original purpose of the Uchiha clan's doujutsu is explained, and its true secret."

_Its true secret?_ thought Kagome, swallowing hard.

Itachi smiled slightly. "If you awaken it, there will be three people—including me—who can use the Mangekyou Sharingan." He chuckled lightly, as if amused. "If that can happen, there is meaning in letting you live."

Then, unexpectedly, Itachi's eyes drifted to Kagome, and the girl shrank further behind her brother. "I had considered killing you, chibi-chan. This world is difficult for a gentle soul like yours to endure. It would be kinder to put you out of your misery…"

"No!" Sasuke cried, moving to shield her from their brother's view. He refused to let anything happen to his sister.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "As you are now…" He dragged his sandal back, causing the twins to jump back in fright. "Neither of you are even worth killing."

He then closed his eyes again as he whispered, "Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, and live on in shame, running and clinging to life. Then, one day, come before me with the same eyes I now bear. Only then can you hope to protect Kagome and kill me."

"And, little sister, there is something you must do as well," Itachi added before his eyes flew open to reveal his Mangekyou Sharingan. Both twins stared at him in horror, but Kagome met his eyes as the black and red pinwheels seemed to spin.

Suddenly the world began to blur and an intense pain pulsated through Kagome's brain. Screaming in agony, she lurched forward and grabbed her head in an attempt to stop the pounding and barrage of horrific images of the clan's slaughter that assaulted her mind.

She could just make out sound of Sasuke's voice as he tried to shake her awake. As he forced her to turn over and the flood of images ended, she saw Itachi walking over to them. Her eyes slowly drifted up to meet his and she thought she heard Itachi speaking one last time, the words echoing: _"Learn to hate me and be strong, little sister—or else you will never survive…"_


	2. Chapter 1: The New Lineup

**Author's Note:** O-O Whoa! I've never gotten that many reviews for a single chapter in my life. Thank you, everyone, for the lovely reviews and your words of encouragement!

Sorry it took so long to get this out, but other things in life have a tendency to interfere with my attempts to post anything. First of all, I went through a terrible case of writer's block that lasted almost two months (talk about a drought -.-;;); these blocks also make me less than enthusiastic when it comes to editing any of my previous works, too, but I'm hoping that, since I've been bitten by the creative bug as of late, I can gear some of the spark back into this story.

Secondly, my soul was lost to the PlayStation 2 gods when I was stuck in videogame-mode. Doesn't sound like much of an explanation (excuse), I know, but I was totally _hooked_ on the game. I was so enchanted with it, in fact, that I went out of my way to order the first version of the game--which will probably make a lot of things from the one I have now make more sense. I don't planned to get sucked so deeply into that one, though, 'cause I've got school starting in less than a week and I've gotta kept myself focused on my courses.

My final plea for merciful consideration are the proverbial technical difficulties. In the past week, my ISP has crashed three times, often for hours at a time, which has made it almost impossible to find the time to post anything. Then there's the fact that FF . Net decided that it wouldn't let me log on Sunday--something about a server upgrade on June 13 at 2:00 am--and refused to let me upload anything until this morning.

Excuses/explanations aside, I really do thank everyone for the reviews. It makes me feel like somebody's actually interested in what I'm writing.

I'm sure that some of the people reading this will be annoyed (to say the least) by my choice for Kagome's genin team--one member in particular that seems to generate a lot of hatred in the Inuyasha community for distracting from a certain pairing. However, I can assure you that any emotions that will be displayed between the members of her team will be mostly camaraderie (or at least one-sided crushes). Please don't read too deeply into them because, as I said in the prologue, there are no real pairings in this story besides canon crushes that are almost always strictly one-sided.

On a side note, I've decided to incorporate some characters from other animes in cameo roles. Seen here will be Kinomoto Touya, Tsukishiro Yukito, and Akizuki Nakuru from Cardcaptor Sakura

Now, without further adieu, please read and review!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha or their characters, or the characters from Cardcaptor Sakura that randomly pop up in this chapter._

* * *

**Hitori Ja Nai**

**_Chapter 1: The New Lineup_**

Umino Iruka frowned deeply as he gazed down at the list of genin teams the Hokage had just handed him. He knew that the Sandaime rarely made egregious errors, but he could not help feeling that the placement of the team members was slightly off.

Hesitantly, he asked, "Are you certain this is the final list, Hokage-sama…?"

Sarutobi spared the younger man a look as he glanced up from his paperwork. "Yes, I'm sure. Why? Does something about the team organization bother you, Iruka?"

A long beat of silence followed as the chuunin attempted to find the words to communicate his disagreement. "Hokage-sama, you've placed Naruto on the same team as Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke…"

The Sandaime regarded him coolly. "You know as well as anyone that the worst student is traditionally placed on the same team as the best student. It is to keep the teams balanced."

Iruka shifted uncomfortably. "I know that, sir, but… Begging your pardon, but wouldn't it be better to place Uchiha Kagome on the team instead of Sakura? She _did_ have a higher cumulative grade point average than most of her peers—including the Haruno girl."

Sarutobi contemplated the younger man's words for a long moment. Steepling his fingers, he sighed. "I understand your concerns, Iruka, but I believe it would be unwise to place the Uchiha twins on the same team."

"But why, Hokage-sama?" Iruka wanted to know. "They work extremely well together, and their styles complement each other. You've seen them!"

"They do work well together," agreed the Hokage readily. When the chuunin attempted to protest again, though, he added, "But they may become too dependent on each other if they are allowed to be on the same squad. They might become so focused on working with only each other, they would completely ignore their teammates."

The elderly man gazed at Iruka solemnly. "It has been proven time and again that it is a bad idea to place siblings on the same team—especially ones as powerful as the Uchiha twins. It leaves the teams unbalanced. They must learn to work with others if they ever hope to become true shinobi."

Iruka silently mulled over the Hokage's words. _It all comes down to teamwork, then—something the twins might never achieve if they're allowed to remain dependent on each other. Kagome might be able to cooperate with her teammates, but Sasuke probably wouldn't want to work with anyone else…_

Bowing his head, the chuunin said, "I understand, Hokage-sama."

As Iruka bid him goodbye and left the Hokage's office, heading for the academy, the old man sighed heavily and glanced down at the profiles of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and the Uchiha twins. _I'm not sure that you do, Iruka. Even _I_ cannot be certain…_

Truthfully, Sarutobi had had an extremely difficult time deciding whether it would be wise to separate the Uchiha twins. Though he was well aware of all the risks he had just finished outlining for the young chuunin, he _had_ briefly toyed with the idea of placing them on the same team.

As Iruka had pointed out, Sasuke and Kagome's fighting styles complemented each other, making them ideal for double-teaming an enemy. Additionally, it seemed to be the girl's personality to be friendly with almost everyone; paired with Naruto and Sasuke, Sarutobi thought she could potentially act as a cohesive agent to bind the three of them together, and perhaps temper both boys with her calm nature. Placing them on the same team with Hatake Kakashi would also allow them both to gain a mastery of the Sharingan from a man who could use over a thousand jutsu thanks to his implanted eye.

Despite the great temptation to place the twins together on a squad, though, an even greater concern had stopped him from making the idea a reality. Ever since the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke had been nursing a fierce grudge against their brother, and the Hokage suspected he fancied himself an avenger. He feared that allowing Kagome to stay with her brother might drive him to harder to achieve his self-proclaimed task and cause the girl to develop reckless tendencies in an effort to aid him. The last thing Konoha needed was a pair of avengers egging each other on.

Sarutobi truly believed that it was for the best that Haruno Sakura was placed on Team Seven instead of Uchiha Kagome. It would allow the twins to gain the experience of working with others, and none of the teams would become top-heavy by having two of the most powerful genin candidates on one squad. Despite his resolve, though, a small part of the Hokage's mind continued to wonder…

* * *

Uchiha Kagome glanced around the classroom as she slowly walked inside. As was expected, very few of the newly graduated genin had arrived. It was still early, and most of them probably wouldn't be appearing for quite a while. That suited Kagome just fine; she liked being early because it gave her time to mentally prepare for the day ahead. 

"Where do you want to sit?" asked a bored voice, causing the girl to glance at her twin brother. Sasuke always posed this question as soon as they were in the classroom, not caring that she always gave him the same answer; it seemed to be a ritual for the Uchiha twins.

Kagome shrugged indifferently. "Wherever you want is fine, Niichan."

Wordlessly, he headed off for the second row in the right mid-section. As usual, he carefully seated himself on the far end and Kagome took the center. It was Sasuke's preferred seating arrangement, as it allowed him to keep at least one person between himself and any fan girls who would potentially fight to sit beside him.

Kagome didn't really mind being a buffer; most of the other girls seemed to respect the fact that the twins tended to sit together, and were willing to find other seats that would allow them to be near their precious "Sasuke-kun." The only thing that really bothered her was when the girls claimed that sitting next to her meant they were almost sitting beside Sasuke; that was just plain creepy.

Soon, other genin began to arrive for orientation. Sasuke ritualistically ignored their presence, preferring to sit in silence, while Kagome dutifully greeted the ones that she knew. Most of the students seemed to be from other classes, so her knowledge of their identities was slightly lacking.

One she instantly recognized, though, was a boy with sand-brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He waved enthusiastically to her as he walked toward her. "Good morning, Uchiha-san!"

Hashimoto Hojo was extremely friendly and polite to a fault. He was everything her friends encouraged her to look for in a potential boyfriend, but Kagome had a difficult time imagining herself dating Hojo. And, much to her chagrin, he seemed happily oblivious to the fact that she was not looking for a boyfriend and was always going out of his way to do nice things for her—even when she continuously dropped subtle hints to get him to leave her alone. Her one consolation was that they only saw each other at school.

Kagome debated whether to adopt her twin's aloof manner and pretend she didn't know he had been addressing her (though he hardly ever talked to Sasuke), but she simply could not bring herself to give him the cold shoulder. Forcing a polite smile, she returned, "Good morning, Hojo-kun."

"I'm glad to see that you passed the graduation exam, Uchiha-san," Hojo told her, his smile widening. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Congratulations to you, too, Hojo-kun," the girl replied, her smile straining a bit. Inwardly, she wondered how Hojo had ever managed to pass the final exam; from the skills she had seen him display over the years, it was a marvel that he had graduated.

"Thanks." The brown-haired boy laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. Then he glanced to the left side of the room and began to walk away. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye, Uchiha-san!"

"Goodbye," she called back before turning away. As she did, her smile almost immediately vanished and she sighed deeply.

"Why do you even put up with that loser?" demanded Sasuke. She turned to glance at her twin as he gave her a skeptical expression. "He'll never amount to anything."

Kagome bit her lip. "I don't know. He's a nice guy—it's hard to be mean to him."

"Being nice has nothing to do with being a ninja," argued her brother, gazing at her intently. "Shinobi must be ruthless and do whatever it takes to complete their mission. In our world, nice guys finish last—in every respect."

The girl ducked her head, abashed. "Yeah, I know…"

An uncomfortable silence engulfed the pair as Kagome mulled over her twin's words. She was almost thankful when it was broken by a loud voice calling, "Good morning, Kagome!"

The Uchiha girl glanced over to see Uzumaki Naruto planting himself beside her on the bench. Blinking in surprise, she automatically returned the greeting, all the while wondering what he was doing there; only those who had passed the graduation test were supposed to be attending orientation. However, as she gave him a quick once-over, she realized that he was indeed wearing a regulation forehead protector.

Sparing him a smile, she said, "Congratulations on graduating, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned proudly and adjusted his hitai-ate.

Kagome was one of the few people who went out of her way to be nice to him, and the fact that she had noticed his progress without him having to point it out pleased him. The only drawback of talking to her in his book was that she always seemed to be with her twin, Sasuke—the one person Naruto could not stand to be around.

His good mood was dampened slightly when Nara Shikamaru walked toward him with a scoff. "What're you doing here, Naruto? This meeting is for graduates, not dropouts."

Glowering at the laziest boy in his academy class, Naruto gestured pointedly to his forehead. "Oh, yeah? See this? It's a real hitai-ate, Shikamaru."

"They actually let you pass?" wondered Shikamaru, raising an eyebrow. Shaking his head, he started for the back row with a mutter of, "How troublesome…"

"Pineapple head," grumbled the blond, glaring after the other boy.

Kagome cracked a slight smile. She might have said something, but a commotion in the back of the room caught her attention. Craning her neck, she could see Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura attempting to push past each other, arguing over who had arrived first. The girl turned and sighed; doubtless, her twin was the source of their quarrel.

She glanced over as she saw Naruto stand out of the corner of her eye, waving widely to the pink-haired girl—who was smiling coyly at Sasuke, who was, in turn, oblivious to her—as he called, "Morning, Sakura-chan!"

Much to his delight, Sakura immediately raced in his direction. However, he quickly found himself unceremoniously shoved aside as she attempted to get closer to Sasuke.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," chirped the pink-haired girl.

The raven-haired boy responded with a grunt of annoyance. Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

"Kagome-chan," Sakura said sweetly, addressing his twin when Sasuke refused to return the greeting, "would it be okay if I sat beside you?"

"No way, forehead girl!" interrupted Ino, glowering at the rose-haired girl. _"I'm_ sitting next to Kagome-chan!"

"Hey, I was here first," interrupted another kunoichi with multiple pigtails, "so _I_ get first dibs!"

As Sasuke's fan girls began to swarm, a miniature war threatening to erupt, Kagome glanced at her brother—whose scowl had deepened—and then down at Naruto, who seemed to have recovered on the floor. She cleared her throat quietly, offering the girls a strained smile as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Sakura-san—everyone—but I think that Naruto-kun was already sitting there."

Sakura turned to see Naruto slowly getting to his feet. She responded with a plastic smile of her own. "Oh, of course!" (The other girls grudgingly muttered their acknowledgement as well.)

Inner Sakura, however, was much less accepting of this turn of events. _"Shannaro! Why is she being so nice to that idiot?! Damn it, Naruto—you're interfering with the course of true love!"_

Displeased that his crush would overlook him in favor of the brooding pretty boy, Naruto vaulted past Kagome and crouched on the desk in front of Sasuke. _What's so great about this guy? It's always "Sasuke! Sasuke!" What's he got that I haven't got?_

Annoyed, Sasuke returned to glare full force. _What the hell is this idiot's problem?_

Sakura and most of the other girls in the classroom were appalled to see the blond so close to the object of their affections. "Naruto-no-baka! Stop glaring at Sasuke-kun!"

The Uzumaki boy frowned slightly at her. "But Sakura-chan…"

More certain than ever that this was Sasuke's fault, the blond returned to glowering at his rival. As they leaned in closer and their glares intensified, electric sparks seemed to fly between their eyes. Sasuke's fan girls shouted angrily for their crush to "kick Naruto's ass."

Clearing her throat, Kagome attempted to intervene. "Naruto-kun, I don't think—"

Her words were cut short when the boy sitting in front of Sasuke suddenly shifted and bumped Naruto. Everyone watched in shock as the boys' lips accidentally touched, their mirroring expressions somewhere between disbelief and horror. Almost immediately, both boy pulled back and began to gag and spit wildly, each attempting to rid himself of the other's germs, spluttering angry threats all the while.

The Uchiha girl struggled valiantly to keep from laughing at what had just happened, but could not keep a smile from gracing her lips as she watched her twin wipe his mouth with his arm one last time. He caught her expression and sent her a withering look; for some reason, that only made it more difficult for her to keep a straight face.

Naruto was also recovering, but the response he received was far more malicious than the one Sasuke got from his sister. Sensing a strong killer intent behind him, he glanced back to see eight angry kunoichi-in-training glowering at him. Sakura's eyes glittered dangerously as she cracked her knuckles. _"Naruto!"_

A few minutes later, the blond genin lay limply on the desk beside Kagome, huge bumps and bruises covering his person, courtesy of Sasuke's angry fan girls. While Sasuke propped his chin up on his hands and stared straight ahead, Kagome bowed her head and sighed, "I tried to warn you, Naruto-kun…"

Umino Iruka was already standing at the head of the class, looking out at all of the academy graduates. "You've all worked very hard to get here, but I have to warn you that it will only become more difficult. As genin, you will be broken up into three-man teams to complete your training with a jounin to instruct you. Are there any questions?"

_Three-man teams? _mused Kagome, glancing at her brother out of the corner of her eye. _I wonder if Niichan and I will be together…_

_I hope I get to be with Sakura-chan,_ Naruto thought, glancing at the back of the pink-haired girl's head as she sat just in front of Kagome. _I don't care who else I get paired with—just so long as it isn't _Sasuke …

_What a waste of time,_ Sasuke decided irritably. _Having teammates will only slow me down…_

"All right then," Iruka said when nobody raised their hands. "I'll read the list of squads. Team One: Kinomoto Touya, Tsukishiro Yukito, and Akizuki Nakuru." (The girl rejoiced at the announcement, throwing her arm arms around the first boy's neck from beside him while he stewed silently and the second boy smiled, pointing out their good fortune as friends to be placed on the same team.) "Team Two…"

The pattern continued until finally he reached the latter half of the teams. "Team Six: Waseda Bankotsu, Uchiha Kagome…"

_This is it… _The raven-haired girl unconsciously tensed, wondering if she would be placed with her brother. She knew that the fact that they worked well together might be in their favor, as a couple of others she knew to be friends and produced similar results had been placed on the same squads.

However her hopes were shattered as Iruka announced the last member of Team Six: "…and Hashimoto Hojo."

Kagome's world spiraled into darkness upon hearing the sandy-haired boy's name. This could _not_ be happening. Not only was she being separated from her twin, but she was going to be forced to interact with Hojo on a daily basis!

Sasuke cast a furtive glance in his sister's direction as her team was announced. He was slightly annoyed that they weren't allowed to stay together, as Kagome was the only person he considered to be a worthwhile training partner, but he also felt badly that she was being forced to interact with the not-too-bright Hojo—a fate she considered certain doom, he decided, judging from the size of the dark cloud that seemed to be hanging over her head.

The chuunin continued to rattle off the names on his list without even noticing the genin's reactions. "Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura"—to which Naruto promptly cheered and Sakura hung her head—"and Uchiha Sasuke." (At this, Naruto and Sakura reversed roles and Sasuke deadpanned.)

"Team Eight," Iruka continued, "Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino…"

Meanwhile, Ino was angrily glaring at Sakura who had turned around to flash her a victory sign. Growling, she demanded, "Why the hell does she get to be on the same team as Sasuke-kun?!"

Beside her, Shikamaru gazed at her with a disinterested expression. "What's so great about Uchiha? Why would you want to be on the same team as him?"

She turned her heated gaze on the Nara boy. "You just don't get it!"

"No, I don't, 'cause I'm not a girl," retorted Shikamaru.

Deciding that he wasn't worth her energy, Ino gave him a pitying smile. "Jealousy is an ugly thing on you, Shikamaru. I'd hate to be on your team."

"How troublesome," muttered the dark-haired boy in response.

"Team Ten." The instructor's voice broke through their conversation. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru…"

Ino gaped in horror at the revelation while Shikamaru chuckled cynically. "What were you saying about 'hating to be on my team'?"

"…and Akimichi Chouji," said the chuunin.

Ino groaned in disbelief. _Not Food Boy, too!_

Iruka called the names of the last team on the roster and planned to tell the genin hopefuls what would come next, but Naruto inevitably interrupted by standing up and protesting the teams' arrangement.

"Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be on the same team as a loser like Sasuke?" demanded the blond, pointing meaningfully at the Uchiha boy.

A vein throbbed in Sakura's temple as she whirled around to glare at him. "Shut up, Naruto!"

The chuunin intervened before things had a chance to escalate. "The best student is always teamed up with the worst student to balance the squads. Sasuke had the best scores out of all the graduating students—you had the worst."

Most of the other students began to laugh and Naruto growled, his hands clenching into fists. Sasuke glanced over at the fuming blond and muttering a quiet warning: "Don't get in my way, dobe."

It was all the Uzumaki boy could do to keep from launching himself over Kagome to get at her brother. "What did you call me, teme?!"

Iruka sighed and loudly ordered, "Naruto, sit down."

Naruto glowered but plopped back down in his seat, (not so) silently stewing. After a few other announcements, Iruka released the genin hopefuls for lunch. Eager to get out of the classroom, they quickly filed outside so that they would be able to eat their midday meal. Most eagerly chattered about what they thought their new jounin instructors would be like. Unlike their counterparts, the Uchiha twins quietly walked out of the classroom side-by-side.

As they reached the schoolyard, Kagome regarded their peers. "It looks like everyone's eating with their new teammates. Are you going to eat with Naruto-kun and Sakura-san, Niichan?"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "Are you going to eat with Hojo?"

"Point taken," sighed the girl. "So, where should we eat today?"

The raven-haired boy opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short when a familiar voice called, "Sasuke-kun!"

Both twins turned to see a pink-haired girl rapidly approaching. Sakura smiled coyly at the boy, a slight blush pinkening her cheeks as she scuffed her sandal in the dirt. "Sasuke-kun, I was thinking, since we're going to be teammates, maybe we could have lunch together, so that we can get to know each other…"

"No," replied Sasuke curtly, spinning on his heels and making a beeline for the other end of the school.

Kagome glanced after her twin before looking back at the dejected Sakura. Offering her a slight smile, she quietly apologized for her brother's actions before jogging after him. When she found him, he was in one of their favorite spots to eat lunch. He had already started on one of the bento boxes she had prepared that morning.

As Kagome thoughtfully chewed on one of her onigiri, she stole a glance at Sasuke. It still troubled her that they were not on the same squad. They did almost everything and went almost everywhere together; it had been that way ever since they were born.

And ever since their clan had been wiped out, they seemed to spend even more time together; (in Kagome's mind,) each felt that the other was the only person they could count on for anything, and the girl feared that being separated from her twin would cause that bond to fracture. However, she refused to allow him to see her weakness.

Swallowing, she softly said, "How do you think you'll get along with Naruto-kun and Sakura-san?"

Sasuke snorted disdainfully. "Naruto is the dead last of the academy, and Sakura is a stupid fan girl; they'll only slow me down."

Kagome winced at his harsh tone. "I'm sure they're not that bad, Niichan. Maybe you should give them a chance."

"It'd be a waste of time and energy—a luxury I don't have right now," the boy replied flatly. He gave her a critical look, onyx eyes sharp. "Don't tell me you've forgotten everything we've been training for, Kagome."

Biting her lip, she looked away. "Of course not. It's just—"

"We can't afford to waste any more time!" Sasuke slammed his hand down on the table. "We have to get stronger, so that we'll to be ready to strike when we find that man again!"

Kagome refused to meet his gaze but softly answered, "I know…"

He scowled at her meek response. "You said that you wanted to help me kill him when we found him. You won't be able to do that if you're cowering in the corner like last time. You have to be stronger."

"I know that!" snapped the girl, balling her hands into fists. Her jet eyes flew up to meet her twin's matching ones. "I promised that I would help you kill that man—and I _will_."

A long, uncomfortable silence elapsed between the Uchiha siblings. It was broken when Kagome sighed slightly and glanced down at her onigiri that suddenly seemed a bit dry. Standing up, she quietly said, "I'm going to the cafeteria to buy some milk. Do you want anything?"

"No thanks." Sasuke meandered toward the window and began to munch on an apple from his bento box.

After buying her beverage of choice, Kagome slowly headed back toward the spot where she and Sasuke had been eating. Needless to say, she was somewhat surprised when she caught sight of her brother heading toward the schoolyard as she neared the building. "Niichan?" 

The dark-haired boy froze in his tracks as she called out to him. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and greeted her with a wave, laughing nervously. "Oh, hey, Kagome!"

Something wasn't right here. "Where are you going?"

"I was, uh, just going to find Sakura-chan," babbled the boy, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, that's it!"

Something _definitely_ wasn't right. Kagome had never known Sasuke to attach such an endearing suffix to anyone's name—not even her own (and she had never heard him babble). She quirked an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you didn't want to spend time with her."

"Sasuke" cursed his luck. Of all the people he could have run in to, it just _had _to be Kagome. Hoping to lie his way out of trouble, he told her, "Well, I got to thinking and thought that I might've been a little harsh. I mean, since we're going to be teammates, we should get to know each other."

Kagome was more convinced than ever that this was _not_ Sasuke. After a long moment of contemplation, though, she decided to let the imposter be on his way. "Oh. Well, if that's how you feel, I'll see you back in the classroom…"

"See ya, Kagome!" Pseudo-Sasuke zipped away.

Still slightly confused, the raven-haired girl quietly walked into the building. Wondering who would want to masquerade as her brother—and why—she slowly pushed open the door to the room they had been eating in. Her jaw dropped at what she saw: there, lying in the middle of the room, bound and gagged, was Sasuke.

Kagome rushed forward and immediately began to untie him. "Who did this, Niichan?"

Sasuke ripped the makeshift gag from his mouth and spat, "Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun?" echoed the girl in confusion. "Why?"

"How the hell should I know?" the boy retorted angrily.

A better question formulated in her mind. "…How did he get you?"

"He caught me off guard," grumped her twin, refusing to meet her probing gaze.

The corners of Kagome's mouth twitched. If the dead last of the academy was able to catch the number one rookie off guard, maybe he wasn't as bad as everyone thought…


	3. Chapter 2: I Won't Fail!

**Author's Note:** Ack! I am _so_ sorry it's taken me so long to update. Like a lot of authors, I got caught up in real life (heavy, hard course load last semester), which didn't afford me a lot of chances to look at most of my stories, much less update. Please forgive me! T-T

Thankfully, next semester I'll have more time to craft my stories. However, a second problem I had with updating this story was simply a lack of interest in it right now. I'm kind of stuck on Chapter 10, where a big fight scene is supposed to take place; my biggest problem is that any fight I write sucks. Anyone got any tips on how to write a _good_ fight scene? I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Somebody mentioned that I probably shouldn't have used CCS characters in the last chapter as the first team mentioned. Rest assured that their appearance is a one-time thing and there will only be a brief allusion to them here (with their sensei, whose name is a mutilated version of a real CCS character). There will be a couple of other characters from other animes popping up every now and then in a cameo appearance, though, if for no other reason than I'm simply too lazy to think of an all-original cast of extras. That, or you can imagine them as people who simply share the same names and a possible similar apppearance.

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review the story. As with many authors, they make me feel like somebody's actually interested in the drivel I waste my precious time creating . Hopefully I'll get over my slump with this story soon.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha or their characters; I also don't own the singular Cardcaptor Sakura character that pops up here with a poor attempt to Naruto-ify his name._

* * *

**Hitori Ja Nai**

**_Chapter 2: I Won't Fail!_**

As the academy graduates finished eating lunch, they slowly made their way back to the classroom where they would be introduced to their new jounin instructors. Most of them were even more excited than they had been prior to lunch break and the air practically vibrated with happy tension. Though Kagome was still not too keen on the idea of being on a different squad than her twin brother—or about being on the same team as Hojo—some part of her was actually eager to meet her new sensei.

When everyone had finally returned to their seats, Iruka announced that the jounin instructors were waiting outside and would be introduced to their teams in order. Kagome watched as a pale man with long blue-black hair and warm blue eyes hidden behind oval glasses entered the room, introduced as Li Kuro, Team One's sensei. The members of Team One quickly followed their teacher out of the room and the next instructor entered the room; so continued the pattern for the first five teams.

"Team Six's jounin sensei," said Iruka, glancing at the door. "Aoyagi Miroku."

As Team Six's instructor was announced, Kagome straightened and watched as the jounin stepped inside. He was a handsome man, with dark purple eyes and black hair that was drawn back in a small ponytail, but looked very ordinary. Even his clothing—the standard chuunin/jounin long-sleeved navy shirt and pants, moss-green vest, a fingerless black glove on his right hand, bandages on his left hand, and dark blue sandals—suggested that there was nothing special about him. The only oddity she could spot was that his hitai-ate was deep purple and tied around his neck.

Casting one last look at Sasuke, whose gaze briefly flickered to her before he returned his attention to the front of the room, she slowly rose to her feet and made her way toward the door. Hojo and her other teammate were already waiting beside their sensei; once she had joined them, they silently trooped outside. Their instructor maintained silence, leading them to the secluded rooftop of one of the school buildings.

When he seated himself on the roof in a cross-legged position, Kagome, Hojo, and their teammate slowly followed suit. He watched them wordlessly, as if attempting to read them from their actions alone, and the elapsing silence quickly became uncomfortable; it was not long before the genin began to fidget.

Then, unexpectedly, a smile lit the man's face. "Well, I suppose we should get started then. Shall we introduce ourselves first, before we cover what we'll be doing?"

"What do you want to know about us, Sensei?" asked Hojo studiously.

"We'll go with the standard format," the jounin decided. "Your name, likes and dislikes, hobbies, dreams. Those kinds of things. Would anyone like to start us out?"

Kagome cleared her throat. "Maybe you should start, so we know what kinds of things to say."

"Fair enough," their teacher acquiesced. "I'm Aoyagi Miroku. My likes include generous benefactors and good sake (and a few things you're too young to know about). My dislikes would be cheapskates and closed-minded people. My hobby is reading the finest literature known to man. My dream is to one day have a beautiful wife who will bear me numerous children."

_Miroku-sensei is a very cheerful man,_ thought Hojo, smiling slightly, while Kagome and their other teammate sweatdropped, sharing a thought: _Is this guy really a jounin?_

"Now you can introduce yourselves," Miroku added, gazing at each of his new students. "Who wants to go first?"

Not unexpectedly, the smiling boy on the left raised his hand. "I'll go first, Miroku-sensei. My name is Hashimoto Hojo. I like reading and working in my family's herbology shop. I don't really dislike anything. My hobby is collecting herbs for my family's shop. My dream is to become an herbalist."

_This one has medic-nin written all over him, _thought Miroku, gazing at Hojo. The boy looked very congenial, if a bit naïve, with clean-cut sand-brown hair that was kept out of his eyes by the blue forehead protector on his forehead, and friendly gray-blue eyes. He wore a short-sleeved navy shirt; a lightweight dark gray jacket with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; bandages on his wrists; dark gray flood pants; and the kind of blue sandals that seemed so popular among younger ninja.

"Guess I'll go next," said the other boy with a smirk. "The name's Waseda Bankotsu. I like training and learning bukijutsu. I dislike people who think taijutsu is more useful than bukijutsu. My hobby is creating ninjutsu to use with my weapons. My dream is to become a hunter-nin."

_He's more than a little aggressive,_ the jounin realized. Bankotsu looked every bit as sadistic as his reputation suggested, with waist-length black hair restrained in a thick braid, a purple cross-like mark on his forehead, and glittering blue-black eyes. His clothing consisted of a short-sleeved dirty-white shirt with dark cobalt trim; his blue forehead protector tied to his left bicep; bandages on his hands and lower arms; loose, light gray shorts with many scroll-shaped pockets; and blue sandals like Hojo.

When the final member of their team failed to speak up, Miroku turned his attention to the single girl of the group. He gently prompted, "Looks like you're up."

Forcing a slight smile, she nodded. "Right. I'm Uchiha Kagome. I like learning new techniques and spending time with my friends. I dislike death…" Her eyes darkened slightly. "My hobby is training. My dream is to become stronger."

_Is she training for herself, or her brother?_ wondered her sensei, eyes narrowed. Her Uchiha heritage was discernable from her fine porcelain features, long black hair—drawn up in a ponytail—and soulful obsidian eyes. She looked something like her brother, wearing a sleeveless indigo shirt with the Uchiha fan and a high collar; loose white sleeves with indigo trim; loose black shorts; bandages on her shins; and the customary blue sandals. Her blue forehead protector was tied at her waist.

What a team the Hokage had assigned him: a hopeful herbalist, a determined aggressor, and a meek avenger. They were so different that it was almost impossible to imagine them being a feasible ninja squad. Miroku thought they would be lucky if they even managed show enough teamwork to pass the test he had in mind for him.

Then again, sometimes the best team was a diversified one, considered the jounin. If a squad was too specialized, they ran the risk of facing something that no one on the team could offset; however, if they had a wide range of skills, one member could easily make up for whatever their teammates lacked. Perhaps they would be workable…

Clearing his throat, Miroku gave his team a smile. "Well, you all have very different ideas, but that's not always a bad thing. It might actually help you in the mission you'll have to undertake tomorrow morning."

All of the children looked reasonably startled. None of them had been expecting to have a mission the day after they had been placed on a genin team. Most genin hopefuls didn't, mused Team Six's instructor.

"What kind of mission is it?" asked Hojo curiously.

"It'll be a survival mission for our team, to test your skills as shinobi," the jounin told them.

"Hey, we already did survival training at the academy!" Bankotsu protested.

"Yes, you did," agreed Miroku readily. "But this mission is more of a final test to see if you'll actually become ninja."

"That's stupid!" proclaimed the long-haired boy, crossing his arms over his chest.

"None of the academy tests meant anything, then?" Kagome demanded incredulously. "Everything we've done up till now was pointless?"

The man shook his head. "Not at all. The academy tests are used to weed out those who aren't up to the task of being shinobi. You three have a lot of potential, but you still have to prove that you have what it takes."

As the words began to sink in, the raven-haired girl came to a chilling revelation. "Not everyone who passed the graduation exam is going to become genin, are they? Only some of us will…"

Bankotsu and Hojo were both taken aback by her conclusion. The jounin, though, was not surprised. It was no wonder she had been right behind her brother at the academy; she was very perceptive.

Miroku closed his eyes and kept his expression bland. "Yes, that's true enough. Out of the twelve teams that passed, only four will become real squads. The rest will be sent back to the academy."

The three genin—who finally knew that they were simply hopefuls at this point—silently digested the new information, with varying reactions of disappointment and/or indignation.

_Another test?_ thought Hojo, sighing dejectedly. _I thought once you passed the academy tests, that was it. It doesn't really seem fair to make us work that hard and then tell us we haven't made it yet…_

_I'm _not_ going back to the academy,_ Bankotsu decided, scowling deeply. _I'd never __live it down if I didn't pass the test to become a genin—especially from a loser like this guy._

_I have to pass that test,_ Kagome resolved, fists clenched. _If I fail, I won't be able to help Niichan—and I promised him that I would! I have to become a ninja so that we can finally kill that man…_

_Well, Bankotsu and Kagome look motivated,_ Miroku mused, taking in their expressions. _Maybe Hojo will glean some of their determination._

"The test will commence tomorrow at six-o'clock sharp. If any of you fail to show up or are the least bit late, you will automatically fail," the jounin told his students seriously.

Bankotsu and Kagome nodded soberly. As members of clans with a long history of producing highly-skilled ninja, they had learned at an early age that timing was crucial. If a shinobi was late for any reason, be it in making an attack or arriving at a team meeting, there was a strong likelihood of failure.

Miroku was completely pokerfaced as he continued. "I won't lie to you. The test will be extremely difficult, and there is a sixty-six percent chance that you'll fail. You will have to use all of the skills you've acquired up to this point if you even hope to have a chance at passing."

"Where're we gonna to meet?" Bankotsu wanted to know.

"At the Twenty-first Training Ground," answered their instructor. Glancing at each of them in turn, he slowly stood. "I'll see you tomorrow. Be sure to bring all of your ninja gear."

As their sensei leisurely jumped down from the roof (he acted like he was simply walking down one step), the three genin hopefuls slowly turned to look at each other. A long stretch of uncomfortable silence engulfed them before Hojo finally broke it. "Do you think we have a chance?"

Bankotsu snorted lightly. "That guy seems like a loser; he can't be much of a threat. It'll be a piece of cake."

"But he's a jounin, Waseda-san," Hojo pointed out.

"Don't call me 'Waseda-san,'" Bankotsu said, making a face. "That's my uncle, not me."

"Bankotsu-san," Hojo rearticulated (Bankotsu rolled his eyes but let it go). "He couldn't have reached the rank of jounin by being weak."

"Hojo-kun is right," Kagome put in. "Even if Miroku-sensei doesn't show off his skills, you can be sure that he didn't get to be a jounin by being stupid."

The long-haired boy snorted derisively. "And just what d'_you _think we should do?"

Kagome blinked at the question and then frowned contemplatively. Truthfully, she was not certain what course of action they should use, as their sensei hadn't given them any more information than necessary. The only things he had really told them were that they would be tested on their skills as shinobi, and that there was a high probability they would fail; Miroku had given them the barest parameters of the mission, nothing more.

Working with "what-if" and other unknown variables situations had never been Kagome's strong suit. She hated guesswork, finding it much easier to tackle pragmatic problems. However, if she divulged this fact, she feared that her teammates might think she was incompetent. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as the weakest link…but it seemed she had little choice in the matter.

Sighing softly, she admitted, "I'm not sure. Miroku-sensei didn't really give us enough information to come up with a plan. But we shouldn't underestimate him…"

Bankotsu gazed at her skeptically before he finally gave a shrugged indifferently. "True enough. But if he's really as good as you guys seem to think, we _have_ to have a plan."

"We don't have enough information to think up a decent strategy," argued the jet-eyed girl wearily.

"We don't really need a detailed plan," interjected Hojo, startling both of his teammates into looking at him. "Sometimes the simplest plans are the best."

Kagome's brows shot up. Since when did Hojo know anything about tactics?

"So what's your plan?" the blue-eyed boy asked skeptically.

"To beat a jounin like Miroku-sensei, we'll have to work together," answered the sandy-haired boy.

"We don't know enough about each other's combat skills to work together effectively," Bankotsu said. "We'll just end up crashing into each other."

"Maybe," Kagome allowed, "but we have to find a way to make our styles mesh. Otherwise, we don't have a prayer of passing."

"Yeah, yeah," the dark-haired boy relented, sighing. "I just hope you're right. I'll see you guys tomorrow…" With that, he jumped off the roof and began to walk away.

"Goodbye, Bankotsu-san," Hojo called after him politely. Then he turned to Kagome and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Uchiha-san."

"Goodbye, Hojo-kun." Kagome waved slightly in return, watching as he leapt off the roof and walked off as well. Wondering how well she really knew Hojo, she slipped down to the ground and silently headed in the direction of the Uchiha complex on the other side of the village.

Standing just beneath the eaves of the rooftop, Miroku released the low-level genjutsu he had been using to conceal his presence. A small smile curled the corners of his lips. _So, they've managed to figure out that teamwork is the key to the test. Bankotsu is a little reluctant to follow through, but I have a feeling he'll go along with them if he thinks it will help him pass. However, it remains to be seen whether they can actually _act _like a team…_

* * *

Kagome carefully placed the bonito flake onigiri, slices of kamaboko, and kake udon with tempura on the table. Sasuke glared at the vessels containing said food, as if repulsed by the sight of them. The girl sighed at her twin's reaction to seeing the food placed in front of him, but knew that it was not meant to be a reflection on her cooking; he was stewing over the fact that they still had to pass one final test before they would actually be considered genin.

According to Sasuke, Team Seven's sensei had been nearly two hours late, and they got off on the wrong foot as soon as the jounin stuck his head on the door and was conked on the head by an eraser Naruto had so thoughtfully placed in the ajar door as a "punishment" for making them wait so long. During their introductions, he had only revealed that his name was Hatake Kakashi and that any other information about him was none of their business.

The instructor came off so glib, the raven-haired boy was almost certain that his intelligence quotient was somewhere in the same neighborhood as Naruto's. He had also been far too cheerful when he told them the chances of their passing his survival test, Sasuke relayed, laughing as if it was some colossal joke. (In a way, Kagome thought that Kakashi sounded worse than Miroku.)

_This was supposed to be a special day,_ thought Kagome glumly as she stared at the red and white kamaboko that lay on the plate, ever so innocently mocking her. _Niichan and I were supposed to be one step closer to reaching our goal. But we've still got one last test to pass before we can even hope to become real shinobi…_

"Will we be able to do it…?" she wondered aloud.

"Yes," came a reply. Startled, she turned to look at her brother, who returned with a determined expression. "We can't fail now—not after everything we've done. We have to pass, no matter what."

His expression turning feral, he added, "We _have_ to become genin…"

Kagome pursed her lips as she took her seat across from Sasuke, gazing at him for a long moment. _Niichan, you're so consumed by your hatred for that man that you're willing to do whatever it takes to be able to kill him. It hurts to see you so full of hate, but…_

The twins locked eyes and a sense of understand passed between them, strengthening her resolve. _No matter what happens, Niichan, I'll always stand beside you. Even if I have to follow you through hell and back, I'll stay by your side…_

With that, Kagome broke her chopsticks and murmured, "Itadakimasu." A moment later, Sasuke echoed her and they began to partake of their meal.

* * *

Shortly before six-o'clock the next morning, Kagome, Bankotsu, and Hojo arrived at the Twenty-first Training Ground. Hojo was a bit bleary-eyed, not used to being up and ready before the hour; Kagome and Bankotsu were only slightly better off.

While they waited for their instructor, Kagome decided to strike up a conversation. Glancing at all of the scroll pouches on Bankotsu's shorts, she quietly asked, "What kind of scrolls do you carry, Bankotsu-kun?"

Bankotsu pulled a scroll from one pouch and held it out to her. "Most of them are summoning scrolls."

Kagome turned her attention from the scroll back to her teammate, startled. "You have summoning contracts?"

"No, that's not—" The dark-haired boy shook his head. "Wait a sec, I'll show you." He pulled out another scroll to demonstrate. "See, they're scrolls for summoning weapons. Instead of carting a bunch of real weapons, I carry scrolls with sealed weapons—then I can summon them whenever I need 'em and reseal 'em when I'm done."

"That's a neat trick," the girl commented, returning the first scroll.

Bankotsu shrugged as he replaced the scrolls in their proper pouches. "Most members of the Waseda clan use it. We specialize in bukijutsu."

_So _that's_ why he's so keen on learning about weaponry,_ concluded Kagome with a nod. _I wonder how many weapons Bankotsu-kun can use._

"Do you suppose Miroku-sensei is already here somewhere?" wondered Hojo aloud, catching his teammates' attention. His eyes grazed their surroundings, as if trying to catch something out of the ordinary.

"What makes you say that, Hojo-kun?" Kagome wanted to know.

The light-haired boy glanced back at his teammates. "It stands to reason that Miroku-sensei would get here earlier than us, doesn't it? He could be watching us right now…"

Unnerved by his assessment, Bankotsu and Kagome cast their own cursory glances at the greenery around the training ground. They hadn't considered the idea before, but it made perfect sense to think that Miroku was lying in wait, simply biding his time before the survival test commenced. It would give him the perfect opportunity to observe his opponents—assuming that they would be facing off against their sensei—without their knowledge.

_And we fell right into the trap,_ thought Bankotsu grimly. _Damn! Now he might know that weapons summoning is my best technique._

_I don't sense anyone,_ Kagome thought, biting her lip. _But Miroku-sensei _is_ supposed to be a jounin—maybe he can conceal his chakra…_

They were both so caught up in their own thoughts that they nearly jumped out of their skin when Miroku suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke between them. He held up a hand and smiled in greeting. "Good morning, everyone! I'm glad to see that you all made it on time."

"Good morning, Miroku-sensei," Hojo responded, smiling in return. "Have you been here long?"

"Actually, I just got here," replied the jounin.

Kagome and Bankotsu facefaulted. Quickly righting herself, the girl demanded, "You mean you haven't been hiding in the trees watching us?"

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"

The dark-haired genin both turned to glare murderously at Hojo, who scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "Well, he _could've_ been…"

To save the sandy-haired boy from his teammates' wrath, Miroku cleared his throat. "I suppose we should start now."

The genin immediately switched their focus, giving him their undivided attention. They knew that their success depended largely on how well they were able to follow his instructions. Despite the fact that Miroku had been hesitant to take on a team, he found that he rather liked the interest they directed to him.

Miroku reached into two of his vest's scroll pouches and withdrew a pair of scrolls. He held them out for the genin to examine. "The object of your mission is to acquire these scrolls. If you don't want to go back to the academy, you need to have one in your possession."

Hojo glanced between the scrolls. "But Miroku-sensei, there's only two scrolls—there's three of us."

"Precisely," the jounin acknowledged with a cheerful grin. "Whoever doesn't have a scroll by the end of the exercise will return to the academy. Unless you decide to drop out, which would be perfectly understandable…"

Kagome and Bankotsu sweatdropped. _What kind of teacher smiles when he talks about his students becoming dropouts?_

"You can use anything you know that might help you get a scroll," continued their sensei. "Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, bukijutsu—everything is accepted."

_It's a free-for-all, in other words,_ thought Bankotsu with a smirk. _No holds barred. This should be fun…_

"But the odds are against you," Kagome pointed out, frowning. "The three of us working against you doesn't really seem fair."

"Battles are often unevenly matched," Miroku said sagely. "Your opponents will rarely consider fairness in a fight; most of them would rather overwhelm you."

_He's giving us a clue,_ Hojo realized as he considered the jounin's words. _He's telling us that we'll have to work together if we want to take the scrolls from him. But then why is he setting us against each other by having only two scrolls…?_

Miroku took in his students' expressions. Bankotsu was definitely smug—he obviously wouldn't have any qualms about taking on his teacher (but would he be willing to work with his teammates to do it?); Kagome still appeared to be considering the "fairness" of the mission (something she would have to overcome, the teacher decided); and, as per the jounin's expectations, Hojo appeared to be puzzling over something (probably wondering how to piece the hints the teacher was dropping together with the information they were given).

"Don't worry about being 'fair' to me," the jounin told them, gazing at each of the genin in turn. "If you don't want to go back to the academy, you have to come at me with the intent of killing me to get these scrolls. They're your ticket to becoming a real shinobi."

_He doesn't consider us a threat,_ Kagome realized, brows furrowing. _Miroku-sensei is counting on the fact that he's a jounin and we're only genin. Even our best skills aren't on par with his. Hojo-kun was right: working together is the only way we'll ever be able to pull this off._

Self-doubt began to cloud her mind again. _But do we really have a chance against someone as highly-skilled as Miroku-sensei…?_

Very suddenly, her brother's voice cut through her thoughts like a knife: _"We can't fail now—not after everything we've done. We have to pass …"_

_Niichan is right—we can't fail after all we've done,_ thought the girl, her hands tightening into fists. _I swore that I would stand by Niichan's side no matter what; to do that, I have to pass this test. I won't fail!_

"Are there any other parameters, Miroku-sensei?" Hojo asked. He needed to know as much about the survival mission as possible if he wanted to help his teammates construct a plan that would allow them to get the scrolls.

Miroku replied, "The only parameters for this mission are the fact that you have to do whatever you can to acquire the scrolls, and that you have three hours to complete the task. If none of you are able to get a scroll, you'll all automatically fail."

Dark looks crossed the young ninja's faces at the thought. As they digested this new twist, their sensei reached into his vest and pulled out a stopwatch. "You have until nine."

The genin tensed at his words, crouching into position. Narrowing his eyes, the jounin set the timer on the stopwatch and barked, "Your time starts _now!"_

With that, the young shinobi vanished from the clearing.


	4. Chapter 3: Pervert Sensei?

**Author's Note:** Wow, it's been a while since I updated. But I don't think it's been quite as long as the last one. -.-;; Okay, so that's not something to be proud of. But, in all honesty, I've been bogged down with course work in a class. It's only a 200-level course, but the workload is comparable to a 400-level course. Suffice to say it involves writing a **_lot_** of papers and reading countless pieces of literature that are meant to turn women into hardcore liberal femenists. If I'd know what would all be involved, I would never have signed up for it. T-T

Thank you, everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's always nice to know somebody likes my writing. :)

As I said during my last update, I'm still having a little bit of trouble with the fight scene in Chapter 10. Again, I ask: does anyone have **_any_** advice for writing a decent fight scene? I'm more than willing to consider suggestions. If I can't get the ball rolling soon, I'm afraid that this will end up simply collecting dust on my hard drive...

Anyway, be on the lookout for a member of the Fruits Basket cast who will be making a short cameo near the latter half of the chapter. Also, I've set up some footnotes about each of the jutsu as they appear in the story. Most of them should be recognizable to Naruto fans, but there will be one original technique. For more information, check the footnotes/end notes.

So, without further ado...

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha or their characters; I also don't own the Fruits Basket character who appears herein._

* * *

**Hitori Ja Nai**

**_Chapter 3: Pervert-Sensei?_**

Though some genin might have barreled right into the task of attempting to get the scrolls from Miroku, he found that the members of Team Six were slightly craftier than that. In fact, all of his students seemed to be well-hidden in the foliage. Well, at least they knew the art of stealth, mused the jounin with a slight smirk.

_I'll give them a few minutes, just to see if any of them decide to attack without making a solid plan,_ he decided as he slowly walked toward one of the trees and leaned back against it. He pulled out an orange hardback and began to leaf through it. _May as well do something pass the time until they make their move…_

* * *

Kagome's eye twitched slightly as she watched her sensei lazily leaning against a tree, reading an orange book of some sort. _He really _doesn't_ consider us a threat! How can he read at a time like this?!_

It was an insult to her skills as a kunoichi to know that Miroku did not perceive her (or her teammates) as a danger to himself. She had worked hard to reach her position as one of the top students at the academy—and the jounin was acting as if she (and the rest of her team) wouldn't be worth wasting his energy!

The girl's face contorted into a scowl and she reached for a kunai. _I'll show him!_

However, the feeling of a hand on her ankle nearly caused her to drop from her hiding spot in a tree adjacent to Miroku's position. Struggling to maintain her balance, she glanced down to see Hojo perched on a lower branch, signaling for her to follow him.

He wanted to come up with a strategy to get the scrolls from the jounin, she realized. She had nearly forgotten their plan to work together in her contemplation of proving to her teacher that she was not to be considered harmless. Biting her lip, she nodded and quietly slipped to the ground alongside her teammate. Silently, they went in search of Bankotsu.

_Was that Miroku-sensei's way of trying to trick us into attacking?_ wondered Kagome as she crept through the underbrush. _It must have been. He's a jounin—all of his moves are going to be calculated. And I nearly fell into his trap by letting my anger get the best of me. _

The girl clenched her hands and resolved, _I won't let him fool me again! I've got to stay calm, focused…_

Hojo grabbed her arm and motioned to a nearby bush. Looking closer, she saw that Bankotsu was using it as cover, still watching Miroku like a hawk (with a sour expression, Kagome was relieved to note—at least she was not the only one who had been annoyed with their instructor's display of nonchalance).

Kagome glanced back at her sandy-haired teammate, preparing to comment, but caught herself when she realized that he was already making his way toward the dark-haired boy. From Bankotsu's expression, she could tell that anyone interrupting his concentration was in for an unpleasant reception; it would only have been right to warn Hojo of the danger, but she also felt she shouldn't risk giving away their position.

As she had expected, the moment Hojo made his presence known to Bankotsu, he found himself at the business end of a kunai. However, as soon as the long-haired boy realized that it was his teammate, he immediately replaced the weapon in its holster. He glanced toward Kagome, who stood off to the side, and then back at Hojo, who was gesturing him along. Bankotsu spared Miroku one last look before he nodded and followed the others.

Hojo quietly led them to an obscured thicket near the clearing that allowed them to keep an eye on their opponent/instructor but was just out of his earshot. Crouching beside his teammates, Bankotsu gazed at the sandy-haired boy intently. "So, what's the plan?"

"We'll have to hit Miroku-sensei simultaneously," Hojo told Bankotsu and Kagome. "If we can overwhelm him, we might be able to take the scrolls from him."

"But even if we can get them, only two of us will be able to pass," Kagome reminded him grimly. "No matter what, somebody will still end up going back to the academy."

"I think I might've found a loophole for that, Uchiha-san," the gray-eyed boy told her. "Miroku-sensei only said that to pass we had to have a scroll—he never said it had to be whole."

The dark-haired genin stared at their teammate blankly.

Hojo sighed and explained. "If we can get our hands on both scrolls, we can tear one in half. That way, everyone has a scroll, even if it's not in one piece. Then nobody can possibly fail."

Bankotsu frowned at the logic. "That sounds way too easy."

"Miroku-sensei told us that there's no such thing as fairness in a fight, right?" the other boy reasoned. "I think the same principles apply here."

"He's right," Kagome said. "We're supposed to do everything we can to get the scrolls in this survival exercise and ignore all the rules of fair play. If there really are no rules, then there's no way ripping a scroll would be considered cheating."

The dark-eyed boy still seemed doubtful, but slowly nodded.

"Okay, then." Hojo looked between his teammates. "We need to discuss our strengths, so that we know how to attack Miroku-sensei…"

Bankotsu's greatest strength seemed to be his proficiency with the weapons he was able to summon from his scrolls, but he also knew a few powerful ninjutsu that could prove useful. Kagome's excellent chakra control allowed her to perform some impressive ninjutsu (for a genin level), and she was also extremely fast. Unlike his teammates, Hojo was somewhat lacking in the departments of taijutsu and advanced ninjutsu, but he was confident that his mastery of academy jutsu would be valuable.

As incompatible as their styles seemed, they worked to devise a strategy that would allow them to mesh. Finally, after nearly an hour of discussing tactics, Team Six came up with what they felt was a solid plan for getting the scrolls.

"…Bankotsu-san, you'll attack Miroku-sensei first by summoning your sword, then you'll use a fire jutsu, Uchiha-san," Hojo outlined the first phase. "You just have to be careful you don't catch Bankotsu-san in the path of your attack. Then I can come at him with a Bunshin no Jutsu(1); hopefully it'll distract him long enough for you to grab the scrolls, Uchiha-san. But if you can't do it, try to give Bankotsu-san an opening with some cover fire. And, if all else fails…"

"We'll give you cover," finished Kagome.

Bankotsu nodded. "It might just work."

"All that's left is to put it into action." Hojo smiled.

Bankotsu smirked slightly and turned to glance back at the clearing where their teacher had been reading his book. However, he did a double take as he realized that the jounin was nowhere in sight. "What the—!"

Hojo turned to the dark-haired boy with a frown. "What's wrong, Bankotsu-san?"

"H-he's gone!" spluttered Bankotsu in outrage, gesturing to the empty clearing. "Miroku-sensei's gone!"

"What?!" Kagome's eyes flew to the tree Miroku had used as a leaning post, only to find herself staring at empty space. "Where'd he go?"

"We should've kept an eye on him," Bankotsu muttered.

"We took too long planning," Hojo added pitifully. "We forgot to factor in the amount of time it would take to come up with a strategy, and made the mistake of assuming he wouldn't move."

"Argh!" Kagome punched a nearby tree in frustration. "He could be anywhere by now!"

"Don't worry, Uchiha-san," the sandy-haired boy attempted to placate her. "Miroku-sensei probably just took up a new position somewhere. We just have to find him—that's all."

"How can we do that?" demanded the dark-haired boy. "We'd have to split up if we wanted to find him, but then we'd lose the advantage."

"We could still split up and keep our advantage," Hojo argued. "We'll just use a signal to let each other know if we find Miroku-sensei. If you find something, just whistle."

"What if we don't find him?" the girl questioned. "Do we meet back here then?"

"Right." Hojo glanced at both of his dark-haired teammates. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Bankotsu nodded firmly, and Kagome quickly echoed him.

The three genin spit off in different directions to canvas the Twenty-first Training Ground in the hopes of finding their jounin instructor.

* * *

_Where could he be?_ thought Kagome irritably as she nimbly leapt from tree to tree. She had been searching for Miroku for nearly forty-five minutes, and she had yet to find any sign of him. As a result, she felt that her only chance was to head back to the thicket, hoping that Hojo and Bankotsu would return soon as well. They had already wasted too much time planning and searching for their teacher—who, by all rights, _should_ have stayed within the area, she thought, her eye twitching. 

_What if Hojo-kun and Bankotsu-kun found Miroku-sensei, but I was too far away to hear the signal?_ wondered the girl, momentarily giving pause. Then she shook her head and started out again. _No, the training ground isn't that big, and I can hear a whistle half a kilometer away—there's I could've missed the signal._

_But…if there was no signal from anyone…that means Miroku-sensei really isn't anywhere on the training ground._ Kagome's lips thinned. _Is this another part of the test? Or is finding him the _real_ test? Did Miroku-sensei tell us that we were supposed to get the scrolls to distract us?_

The answer she formulated to her intellectual inquiry chilled her. _That must be it! Miroku-sensei tricked us into thinking that getting the scrolls was our main objective. He probably knew that, as long as we were busy planning a way to get the scrolls, we wouldn't be watching him. It gave him the opportunity to slip away—and we didn't realize our mistake until it was too late!_

"Damn it…" the girl swore in frustration, dropping from a tree into the meeting spot.

"No luck, Kagome?" a voice asked rhetorically, causing her to glance to her left. Bankotsu was already waiting, leaning against the tree she had formerly occupied. From his posture—arms crossed over his chest—it was clear that he had been unsuccessful as well.

"No," she replied flatly. Kagome glanced around, searching for their other teammate. "Where's Hojo-kun?"

"Haven't seen him." Bankotsu sighed irritably. "We've gotta to switch tactics. Miroku-sensei obviously isn't here; if we keep looking, we'll waste what little time we've got left."

"We've only got about an hour left," agreed the girl gravely. "We can't afford to burn up any of that time here. But first we have to find Hojo-kun."

"Uchiha-san, Bankotsu-san!" called Hojo suddenly. Both dark-haired genin watched as he jumped down from a nearby tree. He glanced between them. "Any sign of him?"

"Nope," Bankotsu answered.

The sandy-haired boy sagged slightly. "I don't understand. Where could he be? Miroku-sensei couldn't have left the training ground—could he?"

"I think he did," Kagome said quietly. She met her teammates' questioning gazes solemnly. "I think that tracking Miroku-sensei might have been the real test all along. The scrolls were probably just a distraction."

_Maybe she's right,_ thought Bankotsu, his eyes narrowing. _Maybe they were right about Miroku-sensei being a serious shinobi. Maybe I really _did_ underestimate him…_

_That can't be._ Hojo frowned deeply. _I was sure that Miroku-sensei's clues were to work together to get the scrolls to pass the test. But he is a jounin… Maybe he _was_ lying to conceal the true test all along._

"So what do we do now?" Bankotsu queried.

"If Uchiha-san is right…then maybe we should head back to the village…" Hojo murmured. "If we fan out, we might be able to find him."

"But where do we look first?" Kagome wondered.

"We could ask my cousin," Bankotsu offered, smirking. "She and Miroku-sensei used to be on the same team. Maybe she'd have an idea where we could find him."

"Where can we find your cousin?" asked Hojo.

"She has the day off today, so she should be at home," the dark-haired boy answered.

"All right," Kagome said, glancing at the boys. "Let's go."

* * *

Bankotsu's older cousin stared down at the trio, blinking. "You mean he just _left_ in the middle of your test…?" 

Waseda Sango had been dealing with her ex-teammate's peculiar tendencies for more years than she cared to think about, but she would never have expected him to simply walk out in the middle of a mission. She could not even begin to fathom what had been going through Miroku's mind when he simply left his (potential) students alone on the training ground.

_He wouldn't be trying to get out of teaching these guys just so he can continue his "search for a suitable wife," would he?_ Sango's eye twitched at the thought. _He'd damn well better _not_ be…_

The killer intent radiating from his cousin made Bankotsu nervous. "Sango-nee…?"

"Sango-san, we would really appreciate it if you could please give us some idea where we could find Miroku-sensei," Kagome said politely.

The dark-brown-haired, amber-eyed woman struck the girl as a person who was generally very levelheaded, though the murderous look on her face drew her composure into question at the moment. Even her dress style was sensible: a sleeveless pink shirt with a mandarin collar and dark red trim; black leggings with a green patterned, wraparound skirt; and navy sandals. The only bizarre thing about her appearance was that her navy forehead protector was slightly crooked.

As her anger cooled, Sango gazed at her cousin, the Uchiha girl, and their teammate sympathetically. All three genin looked rather harried—which was understandable, considering that their one chance to maintain their status as real ninja was fading fast—and she really did want to help them out, but there was an unwritten rule that shinobi who weren't instructors were not supposed to influence genin teams.

However, the woman considered, since Miroku had also apparently abandoned his team before they had a fair chance to make their move, it might be within bounds to clue them in to his usual hangouts…

"I really shouldn't be doing this," Sango told the genin, "but Miroku really shouldn't have walked out in the middle of your test, either. Besides, as ninja, you'll find that you have to use every opportunity to your advantage—even if it isn't exactly what you were trying to do."

"But Miroku-sensei didn't really walk on us, Waseda-san," Hojo disagreed. "He's just testing our ability to track him." (He had finally accepted this idea as fact and was calculating it into his strategy.)

The woman stared at the sandy-haired boy in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"Miroku-sensei wouldn't have left without a good reason," the Hashimoto boy reasoned. "He's just testing us."

_Would Miroku really be thinking that far ahead…?_ wondered Sango, frowning deeply. That did not sound like the Aoyagi Miroku she knew. Whenever they had worked together, almost every plan he had ever had was made up on the fly; she doubted that his strategy for dealing with his genin team would be much different.

_I should humor them, though,_ thought the woman with thinly veiled amusement. _They'll just have to learn this on their own._

"You could try the hot springs near the edge of the village," Sango finally said. "If Miroku is anywhere, it'd there."

All of the young ninja stared back at the woman in confusion, but it was Hojo who vocalized their sentiments. "Why would Miroku-sensei be at the onsen…?"

The woman's expression darkened and near-tangible killer intent filled the air once more. Her voice was steely as she spoke. "Never mind that. If you want to find him, just go there."

"Thank you for the help, Sango-san." Kagome quickly bowed and spun around, all but dragging a stunned Hojo behind her.

"Bye, Sango-nee!" Bankotsu called back as he jogged after his teammates.

Sango watched the preteens take to the roofs in an effort to save some time. Her eyes narrowed contemptuously as she vowed, _Miroku, if my cousin fails because you got tired of waiting for them to make their move, I'll castrate you!_

* * *

"Look, there's the onsen!" Hojo called to Kagome and Bankotsu as they neared their objective. 

Team Six descended to the street half a block away from the baths, causing a few people to shout angrily as they narrowly avoided breaking the trio's fall. However, it was hardly an uncommon occurrence for the village shinobi to suddenly drop from the rooftops, especially some of the more inconsiderate genin. (Many residents were always grumbling that they were forced to replace their roofing tiles on a regular basis as a result of all the traffic their roofs endured.)

Kagome, Bankotsu, and Hojo ran into an abandoned alleyway near the onsen, panting slightly from the distance they had covered. Still trying to catch her breath, Kagome quietly asked, "Where do you think we should look first?"

"Bankotsu-san and I will check the men's section," Hojo said, glancing at the other boy for confirmation. "You could check the perimeter, Uchiha-san."

"All right," agreed the girl.

"We hafta hurry," Bankotsu reminded his teammates. "We've only got fifteen minutes left."

Kagome winced at the reminder. "Right. Let's go."

The three twelve-year-olds quietly crept toward the baths, garnering more attention from the guests than they would have preferred. However, they almost jumped out of their skin when a voice suddenly said, "Hojo-kun? Is that you?"

Hojo immediately spun around to see the middle-aged woman who owned the onsen standing behind them. While Bankotsu and Kagome stared on with blank white eyes, aghast at her wraithlike appearance, the sandy-haired boy smiled cordially. "Ah, Souma-san! Good morning. How are you?"

"Oh, just fine," she assured him despite the fact that she lightly coughed during her statement. "I haven't seen you around for a while. How is your mother doing?"

"Mom's good…" Hojo responded.

The shock of her initial appearance long since worn away, Bankotsu's eye twitched as the conversation dragged on. _What the hell's this idiot trying to do? We don't have time to chitchat—we gotta find Miroku-sensei!_

Kagome barely resisted the urge to groan in agony, but did a cursory inspection of the onsen's perimeter from their current position so that the time wasn't entirely wasted. As her eyes grazed the wall surrounding the hot springs, though, they widened a fraction.

Blindly, she reached over and tugged on Bankotsu's sleeve. When he turned to give her a dirty look, she merely pointed. Following her finger, his eyes became blank and white. There, crouching beside the fence around the ladies' side of the hot springs and peering through a knothole in one of the boards, was Miroku.

He turned to the dark-haired girl again. Her eyes flickered from Hojo to their jounin instructor before meeting his gaze. Understanding her meaning, he nodded and quietly addressed their teammate. "Hojo, we _really_ gotta go…"

"Yes, of course." The light-haired boy quickly apologized to Souma Mesho and turned to his teammates. "Now what—"

"Look."

He was cut short when Bankotsu gestured toward Miroku. Glancing over, his blue-gray eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Miroku-sensei?! But that's the—!"

"Shh!" hissed the dark-haired boy.

"We have to rush him," Kagome told the boys in a low voice. "It's our only chance. Whoever can get at him has to try to get the scrolls."

"But we're not supposed to fight in the village," protested Hojo.

"You wanna go back to the academy?" demanded Bankotsu. When the other boy remained silent, he turned to Kagome with a sadistic grin. "Let's do this."

As quietly as possible, Kagome and Bankotsu ran right at Miroku. Hojo hesitated momentarily, but quickly raced after them.

Bankotsu reached into one of the pouches on his shorts and slid a scroll out of its container with one hand. Biting his other thumb hard, he unraveled the scroll and slid his bloody thumb across it. _**Buki no Kuchiyose: Banryuu!**__(2)_ Almost instantly, a sword nearly twice his height appeared in his right hand; he carefully replaced the scroll in its pouch with his left hand.

Hojo's hands flew through a sequence of hand seals. _**Bunshin no Jutsu! **_It suddenly appeared that a clone was running on either side of the boy as they continued sprinting toward their teacher.

Unlike her teammates, whose functions in the plan (which was being heavily modified, considering the conditions) were more easily performed, Kagome recognized that it would be impractical to use the fire jutsu Hojo had outlined. After all, she did not think that anyone would be particularly pleased if she burnt a hole the wall around the hot springs. Hopefully, the boys would be able to distract Miroku long enough for her to get the scrolls; otherwise, she would be of little help to her teammates.

One thing that allowed them a slight advantage was the fact that Miroku seemed too distracted by his peeping to notice their presence (he was not even bothered by the shouts and cries of the onsen guests as the genin ran toward the man wielding their weapons). However, as soon as they reached the porch surrounding the baths, the noisy _tak-tak_ of their sandals alerted him to their approach.

The jounin spun to see his students rushing him. He was so stunned by their appearance that he narrowly missed being sliced by Bankotsu's ridiculously large sword as it arced down at him. Flipping backwards, he landed a few feet from his original position and turned—only to be confronted by three Hojos, all of whom wielded a kunai in their right hands.

Despite the fact that the boy's attack style was wild at best, and somewhat clumsy, Hojo obviously knew the basics of how to handle his weaponry; he held the blade with a deadly grip as he (and his clones) brought it down toward the jounin, each leaping at him from a different direction with a shout.

The attack might have temporarily overwhelmed a genin, but not a seasoned shinobi. Miroku performed a quick hand seal and disappeared with a puff of violet smoke.

Startled to have his target vanish, Hojo blinked as he landed roughly in the same spot Miroku had just been, his clones dispelling almost automatically. _Where'd he go?_

"Behind you!" shouted Bankotsu as he saw their teacher reappear in the air.

Twisting around, Hojo watched in horror as Miroku descended on him. He suddenly found himself pinned to the porch.

Miroku carefully kept the boy pinioned with one knee between his shoulder blades. Smirking a bit, he told them, "Nice try, boys, but you'll have to be quicker than that if you want to get the scrolls."

What the jounin did not say was that he was impressed with their attempt to double team him. They truly had taken his advice about not considering fairness to heart; if he had not heard them coming, they might have been able to pin him down (even if only momentarily). If he could help them refine their skills, they might make for a good ambush squad—assuming that they could make the cut.

However, as Miroku gazed down at Hojo, he sensed that something was missing. As his eyes traveled to Bankotsu, who scowled back at him, it occurred to him that Kagome had not attempted to attack him yet. He knew that he had seen her charging him with the boys, so where—?

His train of thought was derailed when he suddenly felt someone pounce on him from behind. As a hand began to reach around for one of his vest's scroll pouches, he quickly performed a Shunshin no Jutsu (3), teleporting away before the attacker could purloin her objective.

_It was a distraction!_ realized Miroku as he reappeared a few feet away. _Their plan was more thorough than I thought._

When their sensei abruptly disappeared, Kagome fell forward with a yelp and landed unceremoniously on top of Hojo. Both genin groaned as the wind was knocked out of them from the impact. Even Bankotsu had to wince at the sight.

_They really would be good at ambushing an enemy,_ thought the jounin as he watched Kagome quickly pull herself off her teammate with a quiet apology. _And they've already grasped the importance of teamwork. They _do_ have potential…_

It was then that the alarm on Miroku's timer beeped. All three of the genin froze at the sound, realizing with a sense of dread that their time was up. Slowly, they turned to face their sensei.

His face betrayed nothing. Voice monotone, he said, "We'll reconvene at the training ground." With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Exchanging forlorn looks, Bankotsu, Kagome, and Hojo slowly trudged back to the Twenty-first Training Ground.

* * *

The members of Team Six sat in a row on the ground while their jounin sensei gazed down at them impassively, all of them silently mulling over their apparent failure. Bankotsu glowered, annoyed that even working with his teammates had not helped him to pass Miroku's test; Hojo frowned deeply as he wondered what they could have done differently given the circumstances; and Kagome wore an expression that was nearly as bland as their instructor's, concealing the tumultuous churning of her emotions. 

"You failed to get the scrolls," Miroku told his students flatly, pulling out said objects. "Even given three hours, not one of you managed to possess one."

Bankotsu's scowl deepened. _That's because we wasted almost two hours looking for you! If you had told us it was part of the test to hunt you down, maybe we would've done better._

"Maybe not…" Kagome interjected quietly, startling her teammates and instructor. Her lips twitched slightly as she slowly produced a familiar orange hardback. "But I did manage to get this."

Miroku's deadpan mask slipped as he reached into his back pocket for the book he always carried, only to find a flat gray stone. _When did she—?_

While the man and boys goggled at her, she explained. "I knew that I would never be able to take one of the scrolls without Miroku-sensei noticing, so I used a Kawarimi no Jutsu(4) to replace his book with a flat rock while I reached for a scroll—that way he would never notice…"

_She wants to use the book as a bargaining chip in place of the scrolls,_ realized Bankotsu with a smirk.

Hojo smiled as he realized this as well. _If Uchiha-san can convince Miroku-sensei to accept the book instead of the scrolls, we might just pass!_

Miroku chuckled slightly. "Very clever, Kagome."

"Someone once told me that I should use every opportunity to my advantage—even if it isn't exactly what I was trying to do," Kagome replied smartly.

The jounin thought that sounded suspiciously like something Sango would say, but he refrained from commenting and instead continued with his original train of thought. "But there was never any real need for you to get the scrolls."

When the genin stared up at him blankly, he elaborated. "The point of this test was to see how well you three could work together as a team. And you have demonstrated that skill rather well."

"So…we pass?" Bankotsu asked, stunned that it had been so simple.

Miroku smiled at the genin's nearly identical looks of anticipation. "Yes. You all pass."

The members of Team Six jumped to their feet with a whoop.

_I was right, _Hojo thought, smiling widely. _Miroku-sensei emphasized the fact that fairness in numbers meant nothing because he wanted us to work together. _However, something else still bothered him.

"You were also testing our tracking skills, weren't you?" said the sandy-haired boy. "That's why you left the training ground, right?"

Finding that Bankotsu and Kagome had paused in their celebratory chatter to gaze at their instructor expectantly after hearing the question, Miroku chuckled uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his head. "Yes, of course! You're absolutely right, Hojo. I was also testing your tracking skills. Why else would I have left the training ground?"

However, the quickness of the response—and lack of conviction in his voice—alerted the youths to the truth. Bankotsu pointed at their instructor accusingly. "You never planned to test our tracking skills!"

The jounin shrugged with a confident smile. "You three took so long planning your attack that I thought that it would be interesting to make the test more challenging for you. I knew that you would eventually find me."

A vein throbbed in the boy's temple. "That makes it okay for you to run out on us in the middle of the test?! If Sango-nee hadn't told us where to look for you, we never would've found you in time!"

"Ah, but you _did_ find me in time and you passed, regardless of the fact that you were forced to look for me," Miroku countered. While the dark-haired boy fumed silently, the jounin turned to the female member of his squad and began, "Now, Kagome, if you would be so kind as to give me my book…"

The Uchiha girl glanced down at the worn, orange hardback in her hands before turning to her instructor again. Wordlessly, she threw the book high into the air.

Miroku wondered at her method of returning his novel, but moved forward to catch it—only to see her making a few quick hand seals. Recognizing the sequence, his eyes widened in horror. "No, wait!"

But it was too late.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"**(5) A chakra-infused fireball flew from Kagome's mouth. A moment later, the hardback's ashes rained down on the clearing.

Miroku fell to his knees and caught some of the ashes in his hands, tears streaming down his face. "You've destroyed the finest book ever written!"

Hojo sweatdropped at the sight. Turning to the girl, he quietly said, "Uchiha-san, do you really think that was necessary?"

"Hell, yeah!" Bankotsu answered for her. "That idiot would've had us run all over Konoha just 'cause he got tired of waiting for us to make our move."

"Besides," added Kagome with a dark look. "Any book called _'Icha Icha Paradise'_ deserves to be burned…"

The sandy-haired boy blushed slightly at the suggestive title.

"So what're you gonna do now?" Bankotsu asked Kagome, twining his fingers behind his head, arms akimbo.

"I should probably head home," Kagome told him with a sigh. "Niichan said that his sensei told them not to eat any breakfast, so he'll probably be hungry when he gets home…"

"We could stop by Maiko's for a snack," suggested the boy. "You could pick up something for your brother, too—that way you wouldn't have to cook anything."

"Okay, Bankotsu-kun," agreed the girl. She turned to the other boy. "Are you coming, Hojo-kun?"

"In a minute…" Hojo said. "I just want to make sure that Miroku-sensei is all right…"

Bankotsu shrugged. "Whatever." He and Kagome headed back to Konoha proper.

Hesitantly, the light-haired boy walked over and tapped the jounin on his shoulder. "Um, Miroku-sensei, are you…?"

"I'll be fine," Miroku told him, grief-stricken. "I just need a few minutes…" He threw up a hand. "Go on without me!"

"Okay then…" Multiple sweatdrops formed on the back of Hojo's head as he slowly backed away from the "mourning" jounin. Spinning on his heels, he quickly jogged after his teammates. "Uchiha-san, Bankotsu-san, wait up!"

* * *

**Footnotes/End Notes:**

As I said in the author's note, most of these techniques should be familiar to Naruto fans, but I thought I should probably include a footnote with translations and a brief (and probably flawed) explanation of them. If these jutsu appear in subsequent chapters, they probably will be translated but not explained.

_(1) Bunshin no Jutsu—Clone Technique  
_A supplementary E-rank ninjutsu that allows users to create illusionary replicas of themselves.

_(2) Buki no Kuchiyose: Banryuu—Weapon Summoning: Banryuu  
_A technique of my own creation; it is a supplementary D-rank ninjutsu that members of the Waseda clan use to summon weapons from a scroll.

_(3) Shunshin no Jutsu—Body Flicker Technique  
_A supplementary D-rank ninjutsu that lets the user travel short distances quickly; they often seem to vanish before reappearing by using nearby elements like sand or leaves.

_(4) Kawarimi no Jutsu—Replacement Technique  
_A supplementary E-rank ninjutsu that allows users to substitute themselves with nearby objects; usually used during an attack.

_(5) Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique  
_A C-rank ninjutsu in which the user to create a large fireball that is released from their mouth as they exhale.

If this doesn't satisfy you, you can probably find a better description by googling the techniques that originally appear in Naruto.


	5. Chapter 4: Diverging Paths

**Author's Note: **Jeez, I can't believe how long it's been since I updated this story. Was it really almost ten months? TT-TT To anybody who's still interested in reading this (of which I doubt there are more than a few): **I am _soooo_ sorry!** I've never taken this long to update. Then again, I've never been stuck on a single chapter for a story I actually planned to finish for such a long time, either. A thousand pardons!

My only real excuses are that I've been busy with another majorly difficult course (for the same teacher whose course was described in my last actual author's note, no less); I've had a zillion other ideas racing around my head, despite the fact that I really _have_ been trying to come up with a good fight scene for Chapter 10 of Hitori Ja Nai; real life interfered over the summer with some major renovations to my house; and the fact that I've really been enjoying my Winter Break and doing my best Shikamaru imitation.

With regard to my lack of progress with Chapter 10, I've been toying with the idea of simply building up to the fight and then skipping to the aftermath. I know, I know--cheap trick, but whatcha gonna do? At least that way I could get away from the more static part of the story and back into the plot.

As for this chapter, there will be a Fruits Basket character mentioned (the same one from the previous chapter), but she won't really be making a proper appearance. To anyone thinking that characters from other anime might overpower the story: don't worry, it will be awhile before anymore appear (thought they may be mentioned in passing).

With that, I present to you Chapter 4 (after far too long -.-; ).

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha or their characters; I also don't own the Fruits Basket character who is mentioned within this chapter._

* * *

**Hitori Ja Nai**

**_Chapter 4: Diverging Paths_**

Kagome groaned as the grating buzz of her alarm clock penetrated the blissful haze of sleep. Rolling over sluggishly, she felt around on her nightstand until she found the alarm's off button. She grunted and sat up, glancing at the object of her annoyance with bleary black eyes. It was a minute after six-o'clock—way too early.

_I hate mornings,_ thought the girl with a deep scowl (the effect was ruined, though, by the fact that she was only half awake and looked more sleepy than scary). _They would be better if they started later…_

Kagome had never been a morning person. When she was younger, her mother had had to almost physically drag her out of bed so that she would get to the academy on time. It had gotten easier to force herself to wake up early over the years, but that didn't mean she loathed mornings any less; she had simply come to realize that early rising was a necessary evil she would simply have to live with.

She would also have to get out of bed soon, the raven-haired girl mused, because she had so much to do. First she needed to make breakfast (and bento boxes) for herself and Sasuke, so that they could have their morning training session before they met their respective teams. From there, she would spend the remainder of the morning either training with her teammates or performing a mission—depending on Miroku's ability to get one for them.

_May as well get up…_ decided Kagome grudgingly. Giving her alarm clock one last, withering look, she slowly crawled out of bed and searched through her dresser for a clean set of clothes.

Once she was dressed, she quietly slipped out of her room and made her way to the kitchen. She paused as she walked past the plaza at the heart of the compound. Sasuke was already there, running through his usual katas; he would not come in until she announced that breakfast was ready.

There was nothing new about the fact that Sasuke would be up and about before Kagome. Ever since they were young, her twin had always been able to effortlessly rise with the sun to practice, while she had been coming up with creative ways to use the inventor of the alarm clock for target practice.

Back then, Sasuke had been training so that he could be as good as—if not better than—Itachi. Now, he trained so that he would be ready to take on the man who had annihilated their clan.

Quashing the sadness that welled in her at the thought, Kagome slowly trudged into the kitchen. Searching the pantry, she noted that their food supply was getting low; she would have to stop at the grocery store that afternoon so that they could eat for the next week.

Satisfied that they would be able to have breakfast and lunch, she fired up the rice cooker and dug out some jars of pickles and umeboshi. When the rice was done, she put another batch into the cooker and carefully packed the first batch into onigiri for the bento boxes she was preparing (they would make a quick snack or an easy lunch). If she had had some bonito, she would have added the flakes, knowing how much Sasuke liked them, but—as they were all out—he would simply have to eat them plain. By the time she had finished with the bento boxes and stored them in the refrigerator, the second batch of rice was ready.

After carefully dividing the rice into two bowls and placing them on the table with two bowls of pickles and umeboshi, Kagome went out to call her brother in. He was just finishing a kata as she called, "Niichan, breakfast is ready!"

Sasuke paused to glance in her direction. Nodding, he quickly finished his kata and walked back to the house. Kagome quietly followed him inside, sliding the shoji shut behind them before she moved to take her place across from Sasuke at the table. A comfortable silence filled the air as they picked at their rice, occasionally reaching for a pickle or an umeboshi for a change of pace.

Kagome slowly brought another bite of rice to her mouth, thoughtfully watching as her twin gazed at the pickle in his chopsticks distastefully before he finally stuck it in his mouth. It caused the corners of her mouth to twitch. Sasuke never had been particularly fond of eating pickles for breakfast, but he never really complained about the food she laid out for them (unless it was natto, but that was another matter entirely).

For a moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of the boy her brother had once been—the innocent child who had idolized his older brother and believed he could do no wrong. However, it quickly faded as Sasuke glanced over at her questioningly, replacing the wide-eyed child with the person he had become: a calculating avenger who would stop at nothing to kill the man responsible for the genocide of their clan.

Quickly, she shook her head and shifted her gaze to her bowl. Picking at a few clumps of rice, she shoved one into her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. Sasuke continued to watch her silently, wondering what was going through his sister's head.

Despite the fact that they were fraternal twins, Sasuke and Kagome had always seemed to have a strong bond, and it had deepened since the destruction of their clan. Most of the time, they were able to perceive what the other was thinking without saying a word, allowing them to work in perfect synch and cover up any gaps in the other's defense in a fight. However, there were times when the boy could not fathom what was going on inside her brain.

If it were anyone else, Sasuke would never have bothered himself trying to rationalize the matter (few—if any—were worth the effort), but he had vowed a long time ago that he would do whatever it took to protect Kagome—especially from _that man_. For that reason alone, he would puzzle through his sister's mercurial sentiments if it was at all possible.

However, after a long moment of contemplation, the boy decided he had been thinking about it (and watching her) too long because he suddenly found her staring back at him, arching an eyebrow. Grunting, he quickly turned his attention to his bowl and fiercely shoved a clump of rice into his mouth.

Biting her lip to keep from guffawing, Kagome quietly finished her breakfast. Once they had both eaten their fill, she quickly rinsed the dishes in the sink; she would wash them when she got home. She glanced at the clock on the microwave as she finished up. It was almost seven; if they hurried, she and Sasuke could still get in an hour or so of training before they went to meet with their teams.

When Kagome exited the kitchen, she found Sasuke already warming up on the plaza. Quietly taking her usual spot, she followed his lead, briefly stretching to ensure that she was ready to spar.

After a few minutes, the twins slowly stood in their opposing corners. Sasuke took a battle stance, smirking. "Ready?"

Kagome took a similar stance, smirking as well. "Bring it."

* * *

Somewhere around eight-thirty, Kagome met Bankotsu and Hojo in their usual gathering place, just outside Maiko's. As usual, Hojo was the first to greet her.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san!" called the sandy-haired boy with a broad smile and an extensive wave.

Cringing a bit at her teammate's cheerfulness, she forced a smile as she approached. "Good morning, Hojo-kun." She glanced over at the dark-haired boy and nodded in acknowledgement. "Bankotsu-kun."

He responded in kind. "Kagome."

After a few beats of silence, Hojo asked, "Do you think we'll get a mission today? It's been three days since our last one…"

Bankotsu shrugged indifferently. "I don't care, just as long as it's not another one of those crappy D-rank missions."

"But we've only been genin for a little while, Bankotsu-san," Hojo reminded the other boy. "We probably won't get anything above a D-rank mission for a couple of months."

"It's not fair," the dark-haired boy grumped, crossing his arms. "We went through all of that training at the academy and passed a final test, and for what—so we can deliver groceries and weed people's gardens? It's a waste of our shinobi skills to do manual labor!"

"Performing D-rank missions strengthen a genin squad's teamwork," replied a familiar voice, causing the youths to turn. Miroku approached them with a somber expression. "That's one of the most essential skills that a shinobi can acquire, Bankotsu."

While the dark-haired boy harrumphed, Hojo smiled widely at their teacher. "Good morning, Miroku-sensei."

"Good morning, Hojo, Kagome." Miroku nodded to each of the students as he named them.

"Are we going to have a mission?" asked Kagome.

"Yes, we are," the jounin informed them cheerfully. "It _is_ D-rank, but I think that this will prove more of a challenge than your last mission …"

Bankotsu watched their sensei suspiciously. "We don't have to hunt down that stupid cat again, are we?"

Kagome made a face at the thought of chasing the daimyo's wife's cat, Tora. That had been their first mission—one none of them had relished—and had resulted in a few battle scars for the cat's sheer desperation to stay away from its mistress (and, after seeing her practically squeeze the life out of it upon its return, Kagome had _almost_ felt a shred of sympathy for the feline). A series of less painful but no less demeaning missions had followed, the most recent of which being weeding a cantankerous old woman's flowerbed while she ranted about the younger generation's "lack of appreciation for the botanical arts."

"No, not this time," Miroku assured his students, watching in amusement as all of them heaved a sigh of relief. "We've been hired by Souma Mesho—the onsen owner—to help her with an infestation problem."

Bankotsu raised an eyebrow. "We're exterminators now?"

"Something like that," agreed the jounin. "It seems that a group of frogs have recently taken a liking to the hot springs baths and they're driving off customers. Souma-san wants us to catch them so they can be removed."

Kagome stared at her instructor incredulously. "You want us to catch _frogs?"_ She would have rather taken her chances chasing the cat.

"It isn't as bad as all that, Kagome," Miroku teased the girl, reading into her inherent (feminine) dislike for the amphibians. "There are only about thirty of them; if you hurry, you should be finished by lunch."

The girl goggled. "Thirty…?"

"Don't worry, Uchiha-san, catching frogs is easy," Hojo told the girl, smiling slightly. "Bankotsu-san and I can catch them if it bothers you, though."

Bankotsu gave the other boy a dirty look. "What the hell makes you think _I _wanna catch frogs?"

"No, it's fine." Kagome sighed and looked away. If she really wanted to be a kunoichi and help her brother reach their goal, there was no way she could wimp out on doing something as mundane as catching frogs. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure, Uchiha-san?" asked Hojo.

"Yeah." She nodded firmly.

"All right then," Miroku began. "If we're all ready…"

Team Six dutifully trooped toward Souma Mesho's onsen. As they went, Kagome silently tried to reassure herself. _It can't be that difficult. After all, they're only frogs…_

* * *

Three hours later, Kagome scowled as she announced, "I hate frogs."

Bankotsu glowered in agreement. "Frogs suck."

Miroku smirked slightly as he glanced up from his book (a replacement for the one Kagome had incinerated after their field test) as he sat just beyond the baths. "Oh, come now, it can't be _that_ bad."

The killer intent radiating off his dark-haired pupils as they favored him with matching death glares caused the jounin to laugh nervously before he quickly returned to his book. _Note to self: do _not_ provoke Bankotsu and Kagome at the same time._

Kagome curled her lip in disgust as she glanced down at the water around her, searching for any signs of more frogs lurking beneath the surface. This had to be the worst mission yet. Not only were the frogs grosser and slimier than she had imagined, but she was also soaked to the skin from diving into the hot springs to catch the illusive amphibians.

Judging from Bankotsu's expression, which was as sour as she thought her own had to be, he shared her opinion. The only ones who didn't seem to mind the mission were Miroku—who was doing absolutely nothing to help them—and Hojo—who had been more enthusiastic than his teammates from the start.

After a few moments of careful scrutiny, Kagome declared, "There aren't any more in this bath."

"Good." Miroku glanced over at the dark-haired boy. "Bankotsu?"

"I think there's just one _more!"_ Bankotsu surged forward and seized another frog; it croaked in protest and squirmed in the boy's tight grasp.

"Put it in one of the boxes," Team Six's sensei instructed the boy as he clambered out of the hot spring. The jounin spared a glance at the Uchiha girl. "How many does that make so far, Kagome? Twenty-three?"

Kagome cast an annoyed look in her instructor's direction. "It's _thirty-_three." She had been keeping track, as it allowed her to think about something other than how touching the amphibians made her skin crawl.

As she slogged her way out of her own hot spring, Kagome and Miroku glanced over to see Hojo walking up to them with a broad smile. "I think we got all the frogs, Miroku-sensei. I haven't seen any more in the other baths."

The violet-eyed man nodded. "Thank you, Hojo. Go tell Souma-san while Kagome and Bankotsu take the boxes to the river."

"Yes, Miroku-sensei." Hojo turned on his heels and went off to in search of the onsen owner.

"What're _you_ gonna do?" Bankotsu asked wearily as he and Kagome put their sandals back on.

"I'll just go and give our report to the Hokage. Don't worry, I'm sure you can manage without me. See you later!" Miroku waved cheekily before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Man, this sucks," Bankotsu complained to Kagome as they each took two of the boxes they had been using to hold the captured amphibians; the containers jostled frequently as the frogs hopped around inside. "I _still_ say these D-rank missions are a total waste of our skills as shinobi. We should be out there fighting Konoha's enemies, not catching frogs!"

Kagome bit her lip. She wanted to agree with her dark-haired teammate wholeheartedly, but a part of her was afraid that she was not ready to do what Bankotsu was proposing. It was part of the same deep-seated fear that she had housed since she was eight years old, one that she knew she needed to overcome if she ever wanted to fulfill her ultimate goal.

After a beat of silence, she quietly said, "D-rank missions _are_ degrading, but we aren't exactly ready to face real opponents in battle. We our skills aren't good enough to beat other shinobi yet."

Bankotsu scowled. "Maybe you're not, but _I_ am. I'm tired of sitting on my hands—I want some action." Then as if an afterthought, he muttered, "They could at least give us a C-rank mission."

"Mm…" Kagome murmured noncommittally as they made their way out of the bathing area. Without another word, the two genin trekked to the river just beyond the village.

* * *

The Hokage gazed down at the report, nodding in satisfaction. "Very good, Miroku. Your team is gaining a reputation for finishing missions in a timely fashion."

The black-haired jounin shrugged indifferently. "With all respect, D-rank missions are hardly difficult, Hokage-sama. They are more tedious than tough."

"Very true," agreed Sarutobi with a chuckle while Umino Iruka—who sat beside the Hokage—smiled knowingly.

Miroku scrutinized the Sandaime for a long moment, trying to gauge the older man's mood. He would have to broach the subject carefully to get what he wanted, and to receive it he knew that the Hokage should be in good spirits. Fortunately, it seemed he was in a benevolent mood.

As casually as possible, he inquired, "Hokage-sama, does Team Six really have such a good reputation…?"

Sarutobi sensed that the younger man was fishing, but obliged despite. "Yes. Out of the four rookie squads, yours is one of the most efficient. I've had a few comments that they seem to have a well-developed sense of teamwork."

"Then perhaps it is time that they were given a more difficult mission," Miroku said slowly. "Something that would test their skills as shinobi…"

Iruka glanced between the two men uneasily. _He wouldn't seriously consider giving Miroku-san's team a C-rank mission as well…would he? _(The fact that he had recently bestowed such a mission on Naruto's team made him less than certain.)

The elderly man raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think it would be appropriate to give a rookie genin team a C-rank mission at this point, Miroku?"

The young man returned his gaze steadily. "Hokage-sama, you said it yourself: Team Six is gaining a reputation as one of the most efficient rookie squads. They grasped the concept of teamwork even before it was pointed out as the most important aspect of being shinobi. They work hard and train constantly; as it is, they're beginning to feel that their efforts are under-appreciated. They deserve a chance to prove that they can handle a C-rank mission."

Miroku knew that it was a gamble to play on his team's ability to work well together almost since the squad's inception, but he truly believed that his team was ready. It was more than Bankotsu's comments of boredom that had spurred the idea; their ability to perform their duties so well (even under protest) made him think that they really would be able to handle a C-rank mission. There was very little chance of encountering any real threats, but it would give their morale a boost.

Iruka was impressed with the way the raven-haired man was requesting a more advanced mission for his squad, considering the way Kakashi had handled his students when Naruto all but demanded a "real mission"; he emphasized their efficiency as a team rather than simply telling the Hokage they wanted a higher-ranking mission. However, he still felt his chest constrict at the thought of giving such young genin a C-rank mission.

After a long moment of scrutinizing the younger man, Sarutobi finally yielded. "Very well, Miroku. If you truly feel that your squad is ready for a C-rank mission…"

* * *

Kagome trudged into the Uchiha compound with a groan. All she wanted to do was take a long, hot bath and relax, but she had too much to do that afternoon. She still had to make lunch, and then she had to go to the grocery store to replenish their food stores.

_First things first, though,_ she decided as she slipped off her sandals in the entry of the house. _I need a shower…_

As she passed the kitchen, she was surprised to see Sasuke working at the stove. "Niichan? What're you doing?"

"What does it look like?" he retorted, keeping his eyes on the pot in front of him. "I didn't know when you'd be home, so I decided to make something more substantial than those rice balls. You really need to go shopping, by the way; we're almost out of food."

"I was planning to do that this afternoon," she replied wearily.

Sasuke finally glanced up at her and was slightly taken aback by her disheveled—and damp—appearance. His brows furrowed. "What happened to you?"

Kagome gave her twin a sour look. "Frogs." Then, she marched upstairs to the bathroom.

When the girl returned, she found that Sasuke had already laid out the stew he had been working on, along with the onigiri from the bento boxes in the refrigerator. It was a rare treat—not because her brother could not cook, but rather because he rarely felt the urge—and Kagome rather enjoyed the fact that she hadn't had to make (most of the) lunch.

"Did you have a mission today, Niichan?" the girl asked as they quietly ate.

"Yeah, we had to chase the daimyo's wife's stupid cat," her twin answered, scowling slightly at the memory. Then he stared down at his bowl for a long moment before he spoke again. "And then the Hokage gave us a C-rank mission…"

"What?" Kagome almost dropped her spoon.

"Naruto kept badgering him until he finally broke down and agreed to give us one." He quietly ate another spoonful of stew. "It's not really that impressive. We just have to escort some bridge builder to Wave Country and protect him until he finishes his bridge. It should only take about three weeks."

The idea of being separated from her twin for a prolonged period of time left a cold pit in Kagome's stomach. Being apart from Sasuke had always seemed to be the worst aspect of being placed on a different teams; she had not even considered what it would be like when one of them would have to leave Konoha for a mission. Belatedly, she realized that it had been stupid of her to think that way; as they moved up in rank, there would be more and more occasions during which they would be separated for their missions.

Despite all of her rationalizations that they would (had to) undoubtedly function without each other, it still made her uneasy. They had rarely been apart for any substantial length of time since the Uchiha Massacre. The idea of being left alone in the compound for three weeks straight—with so many ghosts lurking around every corner—unnerved her.

However, Kagome refused to let Sasuke see her weakness. Forcing a smile, she told him, "That's great. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," was the response. "We're supposed to meet in our usual spot around six-o'clock."

"I'll have to get up early to make sure you have a good breakfast, then," the girl said, mostly to herself.

Sasuke gave his sister a long, hard look. He knew that her reaction was anything but sincere; she was simply showing him what she thought he wanted to see. The idea of leaving her along for so long bothered him, but he knew that she could take care of herself.

After all, he reasoned, she was a better kunoichi than most of the girls he knew (the majority of which were, admittedly, his obsessive fan girls), and her skills were almost on par with his own (in most respects). Kagome could handle almost anything that was thrown at her. She would be fine.

So why was it he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen…?

* * *

_Let's see…_ Kagome gazed thoughtfully at the contents of her shopping basket. _I just need to get some umeboshi and bonito and I think I'll be finished…_

Normally, whenever the Uchiha girl went to the grocery store, she found herself bombarded by the attentions of her friends (one of whose father was the store's proprietor). It wasn't that she really minded their friendship, but they had so little in common since they had dropped out of the ninja academy in favor of learning their families' trades or other endeavors. This time, it seemed that she would be able to get out of the store without a confrontation—and the sooner, the better.

However, Kagome's hope for a quick escape was thwarted when she suddenly heard someone call, "Kagome-chan!"

Cringing a bit, she turned to see Shimizu Yuka, Masuda Eri, and Okamoto Ayumi standing behind her, all gazing at her with expectant smiles. Oh, perfect—they were all together. There was no way she would get away without talking to all of them.

She immediately plastered a smile onto her face as she waved slightly. "Hi! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long," agreed Yuka readily.

"Where've you been lately?" Eri wanted to know. "I hardly ever see you anymore."

Kagome offered them an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Eri-chan. It's just that I've been really busy with missions lately."

"That's right, you graduated from the academy a couple of months ago," Ayumi acknowledged.

"And you're on a team with Hojo-kun, aren't you?" Yuka added.

"Has he asked you out yet?" asked Eri excitedly.

The Uchiha girl squirmed. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi always seemed to be pressing her into hooking up with her sandy-haired teammate. Though she had come to respect his analytical skills since they were placed on the same team, she simply was not interested in Hojo—or anyone else—romantically. She knew her friends meant well, but sometimes she wished that she could figure out how to tell them to mind their own business without offending them.

Fortunately, Yuka recognized the discomfiture Kagome was radiating. _Un_fortunately, she misinterpreted it as embarrassment. "Come on, Eri-chan, don't bug Kagome-chan about Hojo-kun. When she's ready to talk about their relationship, she will."

Kagome sweatdropped. _But we don't _have_ a relationship…_

"Who're your sensei and your other teammate, Kagome-chan?" asked Ayumi curiously.

Glad for the change of subject, Kagome answered, "My other teammate is Waseda Bankotsu, and our sensei is Aoyagi Miroku."

"I think I remember Bankotsu—he was in my class with Asuna-sensei," recalled Yuka with a thoughtful look. "He was always more interested in weapons and fighting than anything else."

Kagome nodded. "Bankotsu-kun says that the Waseda clan specializes in bukijutsu."

"Is he cute?" Eri inquired. When Kagome, Yuka, and Ayumi simply stared at her incredulously (all for different reasons), she blinked. "What?"

Fortunately or unfortunately (Kagome couldn't decide which), the awkward moment was interrupted when a familiar voice called, "Uchiha-san!"

Startled, the girl in question glanced over to see her sandy-haired teammate jogging toward them. "Hojo-kun?"

Hojo smiled slightly at Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, politely greeting them all, but quickly returned his focus to his teammate. "Uchiha-san, Miroku-sensei asked me to deliver a message to you, since we weren't supposed to meet till tomorrow."

"What is it?" she asked, wondering what would be so important that it could not wait until their meeting the next morning.

"Miroku-sensei convinced the Hokage to give us a C-rank mission," the gray-eyed boy told her excitedly.

Kagome's eyes widened a fraction. "W-what?"

"We'll be escorting a priestess to her village in Light Country," Hojo went on, seemingly oblivious to her apprehension. "Miroku-sensei says that we'll be meeting at the gate at six tomorrow morning, so we can get an early start."

Kagome inhaled sharply. _But…that's when Niichan's team is leaving. I was going to see him off…!_

"He thinks we'll probably be gone for about a week and a half," added the sandy-haired boy, as if an afterthought. Then he gazed at her in concern. "Are you going to be ready for the mission, Uchiha-san?"

"Of course." Kagome heard herself quickly answering, though she didn't remember willing it to happen. "Shinobi must be ready for anything at all times."

Hojo did not appear convinced, but he did not press the issue. "Okay, then. I'll let Miroku-sensei know… Goodbye, Uchiha-san."

"Goodbye, Hojo-kun," Kagome replied hollowly as the boy slowly walked away.

The Uchiha girl's friends gazed at her worriedly, their anxiety growing when she remained silent, with her head lowered so that her bangs shielded her eyes. They could not understand her reaction to Hojo's news; most kunoichi their age would have been ecstatic to receive a C-rank mission, but she was acting as if her entire world had just crashed down around her ears.

Hesitantly, Yuka placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Kagome-chan…?"

"I'm sorry," Kagome muttered, shrugging her off. "I have to finish my shopping. I'll see you guys later…" With that, she slowly trudged away, leaving Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi to stare after her in concern.

* * *

Kagome delicately picked at the grains of rice in her bowl. Her anxieties about being separated from her brother for so long compounded with her doubts about her ability complete an advanced mission, creating so many knots in her stomach that she found absolutely nothing appetizing about her breakfast. She might as well have been eating Styrofoam. Biting her lip, she looked over at her twin.

Across from her, Sasuke seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, though she could only begin to guess what was going through his mind. He chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of rice before he paused to glance over at her; after a long, hard stare, he returned his attention to his bowl. Kagome lowered her gaze to her own bowl, her mind still numb from everything that had happened in the last sixteen hours.

Neither of the Uchiha twins felt particularly talkative that morning. Despite the fact that the ensuing silence was almost unbearable, the near-tangible tension in the air made conversation seem unthinkable.

As the meal slowly drew to a close, the twins took care of a few last minute details—Kagome did the dishes and Sasuke rechecked their packs, to ensure that they had everything they would need for their missions. Both of them did their best to draw out the length of their respective tasks, but eventually they had to finish.

When all was said and done, the Uchiha twins stood at the compound gate, hesitant to take their leave. Though they both knew that this separation was only temporary, there seemed to be something very final about the moment.

It was Sasuke who broke the silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a few weeks."

Kagome nodded, not trusting her voice.

Neither of the twins made a move to leave.

Shifting slightly, the boy sighed. "We should get going."

Clenching her hands into fists, the girl looked up at her brother with tearful onyx eyes. Then, unexpectedly, she threw her arms around him and whispered, "Be careful, Niichan."

Sauske was thrown off guard by his twin's sudden display of affection. He had never been very good with emotional exhibitions—especially those of the touchy-feely variety—and Kagome did not often attempt them. Awkwardly, he returned the embrace. "Yeah, you, too…"

Then, after a long moment, the twins pulled away from each other. With a final, quiet "Goodbye," they slowly made their way to their designated meeting spots to join their respective teams.


End file.
